Uganda Law Society Appeals for Swift Supreme Court Ruling in Kazinda Case

The Uganda Law Society has appealed to the Chief Justice, Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, and the Justices of the Supreme Court to urgently deliver a long-awaited judgment in a five-year-old constitutional appeal involving the Attorney General and jailed former Principal Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister, Geoffrey Kazinda.

In a letter dated December 17th 2025 and  addressed to the Administrator of the Supreme Court, Justice Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, the Law Society says the prolonged delay has resulted in the continued illegal detention of Kazinda, who has been incarcerated at Luzira Upper Prison since October 2012.

The letter, signed by Uganda Law Society Vice President Anthony Asiimwe, follows pleas by Kazinda, his lawyers and family, who have persistently complained about delayed justice in his case.

Both the Law Society and Kazinda’s family have expressed concern that Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo, who led a panel of six Justices that heard the petition, is expected to retire in about one month upon attaining the mandatory retirement age of seventy years.

The Law Society fears that if the Chief Justice exits office before delivering the judgment, it may take a considerable time to reconstitute another panel to handle the petition, causing further delays.

Kazinda’s legal troubles began in June 2013  when he was convicted by the High Court on charges including embezzlement and forgery and sentenced to eight years in prison.

However, those convictions and sentences were later set aside by the Court of Appeal in separate criminal appeals that were decided in his favour.

The Law Society further notes that in August 2020, the Constitutional Court ruled that Kazinda had been subjected to continuous and unlawful prosecutions arising from the same allegations. The court then ordered for  his immediate discharge in all pending cases and barred the State from prosecuting him on the same matters.

The Attorney General, dissatisfied with the ruling, successfully applied for a stay of execution pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Attorney General’s appeal was first heard in November 2021 and later re-heard in July last year  after the panel was reconstituted following the death and retirement of some Justices.

To date, judgment has not been delivered in the said appeal.

The Uganda Law Society now says Kazinda remains in custody solely because the Supreme Court has not issued its decision after his acquittal discharge by appellate courts.