By Admin
Lawyers in Uganda are asked to put more emphasis on the representation of victims of violence during the coming electoral period as a way to slow down acts of uncontrolled violations of vulnerable people’s rights by those in authority.
Giving a keynote address at a meeting of human rights defenders and advocates, Miria Matembe emphasizes the need to be focused while tracking and documenting cases of electoral violence as this will facilitate better legal representation of the victims in courts.
Basing on what transpired in the just concluded NRM primaries which were marred by extreme violence, Matembe anticipates the same environment to the surface during the general elections which call for extra vigilance of lawyers.
She adds that rights and legal defenders are better placed to help out victims of electoral violence in the coming elections.
However, she stresses that fears among lawyers and judges in Ugandan have presented a bad challenge for Uganda’s democracy.
The executive director LAPSNET, Sylvia Namubiru Mukasa states that they are lining up a group of lawyers who are to take on legal action against all candidates, security officers, and other stakeholders who will violate people’s rights during the 2021 elections.
Meanwhile, Matembe is castigating the supreme court of Ugandan which has on several occasions sat on electoral justice, an act she says has continued to keep Uganda under poor leadership which he says is costing the nation.
With a new election period, she asks lawyers to bold and takes on the mantel to save Ugandans from the burden of poor leadership.
The meeting is aimed at preparing lawyers to handle cases of violence to citizens as they arise.
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