Justice Is a Competitive Market
An Epistle to the Radical New Bar, the Bench, the Bar, the Justice Sector and the People of Uganda.
“The people do not owe the justice sector their confidence. The justice sector must earn it anew every day.”
Grace, Mercy and Peace
Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who is Himself the Author of Justice, the Defender of the Oppressed, the Refuge of the Persecuted, the Hope of the Afflicted, and the righteous Judge before whose throne every earthly institution shall one day give an account.
May His wisdom govern our minds.
May His courage strengthen our hearts.
May His mercy temper our judgments.
May His truth continually remind us that no office, however exalted, no court, however dignified, and no constitution, however beautifully written, possesses an authority greater than justice itself.
The Communion of Those Who Labour for Justice
Before I write concerning institutions,
permit me first to remember people.
For justice has never been administered by buildings.
Neither has it been preserved by statutes alone.
Justice has always travelled through ordinary men and women who, in every generation, quietly choose courage over comfort, conscience over convenience, and duty over applause.
To such men and women this Letter is dedicated.
To RNB Commander 00001
Grace be unto you, RNB Commander 00001, Isaac K. Ssemakadde, President of the Uganda Law Society, wherever Divine Providence has seen fit to preserve you during these uncertain days.
I pray for your health.
I pray for your safety.
I pray for your family.
I pray for your eventual return in peace.
May the Lord prosper every endeavour that honestly seeks the renewal of our profession.
May He strengthen your hands as you continue calling the legal fraternity to the great work of Digital Transformation, Democratisation, Demilitarisation and Decolonisation.
And may history judge every reform not by the comfort it afforded its authors, but by the justice it secured for the people.
To Those Who Continue to Pay the Debt of Courage
Permit me also to greet those whose names remind us that institutions are ultimately carried upon human shoulders.
To Her Worship Atim Sheilah Gloria, and to every judicial officer who has quietly discovered that fidelity to conscience sometimes carries a personal cost, may the Lord grant courage, wisdom and peace.
To Hon. Mariam Wangadya, the now resigned former Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission and to every public servant who has wrestled with the demands of conscience in the discharge of constitutional duty, may the God of truth preserve your integrity and reward every sacrifice made in the service of justice.
To every Advocate who has endured criticism, imprisonment, intimidation, professional loss or public misunderstanding because they remained faithful to their oath, may your strength be renewed.
History often remembers such moments only after they have passed.
God remembers them while they are being lived.
To Those Who Bear Heavy Burdens
We remember all who presently carry burdens in the pursuit of justice.
We remember Advocates defending unpopular clients.
Judicial officers deciding difficult cases.
Families waiting for justice.
Citizens deprived of liberty.
Victims awaiting accountability.
Public servants striving to discharge their duties with integrity.
And every unknown Ugandan whose quiet courage shall never appear in a law report, yet whose faithfulness strengthens the Republic more than they themselves may ever realise.
May the Lord sustain you all.
To Those Who Have Gone Before Us
We pause to remember our departed colleagues.
Advocates.
Judicial officers.
Court staff.
Legal scholars.
Public servants.
Citizens who loved justice.
Though their voices are now silent,
their labour continues to speak.
May Almighty God grant unto them eternal rest.
May He comfort the families they have left behind.
And may He raise another generation willing to continue the work that they faithfully began.
To the Court Users of the Republic of Uganda
Finally,
and above all,
I greet you.
The people of Uganda.
The widow seeking justice.
The orphan seeking protection.
The prisoner awaiting trial.
The accused person longing to be heard.
The victim longing to be believed.
The worker.
The employer.
The tenant.
The landlord.
The refugee.
The entrepreneur.
The child.
The elder.
The taxpayer.
The forgotten.
Every citizen who has ever walked through the gates of a court carrying nothing but hope.
It is from you that every justice institution ultimately derives both its purpose and its legitimacy.
Without your confidence,
our robes become garments.
Our courtrooms become buildings.
Our statutes become paper.
Our offices become titles.
And our learning becomes an exercise in vanity.
We therefore acknowledge your frustrations.
We recognise your disappointments.
We hear your growing questions.
This Letter is written because those questions deserve honest answers.
An Author’s Reflection
Beloved,
Some may wonder why I have begun this Letter with prayers rather than propositions.
The answer is simple.
Justice is never administered by institutions alone.
It is administered by people.
By advocates whose consciences are tested.
By judicial officers whose independence is questioned.
By public servants who must daily choose between convenience and conviction.
By citizens who continue believing in justice even when justice appears to have forgotten them.
If we forget the people,
we shall soon misunderstand the institutions they created.
For institutions exist because people first entrusted them with their liberty, their property, their dignity and their hope.
It is therefore fitting that we remember the people before we examine the institutions.
A Word on the Journey Ahead
The reflections that follow are neither offered as mere opinion nor as political rhetoric.
They arise from a growing body of observation, reflection and conversation about how people seek justice in Uganda today.
Some of those observations emerge from scholarly research.
Others from the lived experiences of our courts, our communities and our profession.
Still others from the unmistakable transformations brought about by technology, Alternative Justice Systems and the changing expectations of the public.
Together, they invite us to confront a question that I believe our generation can no longer postpone.
The Question Before Our Generation
Every generation inherits one question that eventually defines it.
Some generations asked whether kings should govern.
Others asked whether constitutions should restrain power.
Others asked whether liberty belongs equally to all people.
I believe our generation has inherited another.
What becomes of the justice sector when the people begin seeking justice elsewhere?
This Letter is an attempt to answer that question.
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Enen Ambrose. Advocate
Member, Judiciary Affairs Committee,
Uganda Law Society
& Founder–Enen Legal World
Justice Ignited. Courage Unleashed.
www.enenlegalworld.com | enen@enenlegalworld.com
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