Independence of the judiciary and the collapsing ceasefire in Uganda, plus a few Sudan links
As Acholi chief Rwot Onen Achana II attempts to woo the Lord’s Resistance Army back into talks with the Ugandan government and aid agencies plan for a possible resurgence of hostilities in the wake of the collapse of the ceasefire, Uganda is facing another political crisis: a conflict over the independence of the judiciary. Lawyers have just joined a week-long judges’ strike.
Hundreds of lawyers attended and condemned what they called “the continuous raping of the Judiciary by the executive.” All judicial officers are currently on strike over what they regard as a gross infringement on the independence of the Judiciary by the Executive.
The strike was triggered off by an invasion of the courts by security personnel last Thursday where they intimidated and assaulted civilians, vandalised court property, before they forcibly re-arrested six rebel suspects of the People’s Redemption Army shortly after they were granted bail.
A Global Voices round up of the Ugandan blogosphere discusses the reaction to the Last King of Scotland, the collapse of the ceasefire, and the sending of Ugandan troops to the UN Security Council sanctioned African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia.
And here are a couple of items on Sudan:
Sudan: UN De-Miners And Partners Destroy Thousands of Mines As More Areas Cleared.
Drima asks whether China may be changing its stance toward Sudan.
Tomorrow, I’ll have my promised response to Disputed Mutability, and maybe a movie review.