Summary:
- “English is the language of the court, and there’s no way around it. Yet I have seen people struggling to make submissions in the language. You should ask these magistrates here; they will tell you what they encounter. Sometimes it is quite embarrassing,” he said.
KABALE: The Kabale High Court Resident Judge, Samuel Emokor, has urged universities teaching law to establish English as a course unit, as many lawyers struggle to express themselves in the language during court submissions.
Speaking as the Chief Guest at the launch of Kabale University’s Faculty of Law in Kabale District, Justice Emokor remarked that at times, court presiding officers were left wondering which universities produced certain lawyers due to the “embarrassing” quality of their submissions. He suggested that Kabale University’s Law Faculty should include English as a course unit to ensure its graduates are well-prepared to make court submissions. Furthermore, he recommended that all university faculties admit only students who have passed English with at least a credit at the O’level.
“English is the language of the court, and there’s no way around it. Yet I have seen people struggling to make submissions in the language. You should ask these magistrates here; they will tell you what they encounter. Sometimes it is quite embarrassing,” he said.
CUE IN JUSTICE EMOKOR…..ON ENGLISH……ENG//
Justice Emokor also cautioned Kabale University’s Faculty of Law against graduating students who have failed the law course, either out of sympathy or fear of losing potential law students.
“We have heard cases where lecturers are pressured to pass students who have failed the law course because the institution does not want to appear wasteful of school fees. Please ensure that graduates have truly earned their law degrees, as they will represent your institution in the field,” he said.
CUE IN JUSTICE EMOKOR……ON STANDARD……ENG//
The Kabale District Resident Commissioner, Godfrey Nyakahuma, urged the Kabale University Faculty of Law to invest in research to address the problem of money lenders using the law to seize land from the poor.
“We have handled numerous cases where money lenders take advantage of financially disadvantaged locals, luring them into signing for Shs. 30 million for land worth Shs. 2 million. Our people often approach these money lenders for help during emergencies, such as school fees and medical bills,” Nyakahuma said.
CUE IN RDC NYAKAHUMA…..ON THE MATTER…..ENG//
Kabale University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Joy Kwesiga, expressed her hope that the Law Faculty would also instill values of humanity (Ubuntu) in its students, including empathy and equality.
“Lawyers often say ‘the law is clear,’ but there is also a need for humanity. I’m not asking you to bend the law, but to be considerate while performing your duties,” she said.
CUE IN PROF. KWESIGA…..ON HUMANITY…..ENG//
Dr. Charlotte Kabaseke, the Dean of the Law Faculty, will lead a team of six teaching staff members who will conduct law lectures at Kabale University.
Kabale University was established on Kikungiri Hill in Southern Division, Kabale, as a private institution in 2002 by a group of businesspeople and academics. It later became a community university before being taken over by the government as a public university in 2015. In the same year, Lira University and Soroti University were also taken over following approval by Uganda’s 9th Parliament.
Since then, the student population has grown from 1,500 to over 5,000 as of 2024. According to Prof. Kwesiga, Kabale University ranks second only to Makerere University in terms of human resources, with up to 500 staff members.
