The Kabale High Court Resident Judge Samuel Emokol has called upon Universities teaching law to consider establishing English as a course Unit as Lawyers struggle to express themselves in the language while making court submissions.
While speaking as the Chief Guest at the Launch of Kabale University Faculty of Law in Kabale District, Justice Emokol said that at times, the Court Presiding Officers were compelled to wonder which Universities produced some lawyers because their “submissions were “embarrassing.”
Justice Emokol suggested that University Law faculties should have English as a course unit, and also suggested that all University faculties should only admit students who have passed English with at least a credit in English at O’Level.
“English is the language of court and there’s no way you can go 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 are encountering down there. Sometimes it is quite embarrassing,” he said.
Justice Emokol also cautioned Kabale University Faculty of Law against graduating students who have failed the law course, either out of sympathy or fearing to scare away potential law students.
“We have heard cases in which lecturers are involuntarily made to pass students who have failed the law course because they didn’t want to look as a wastage if School fees. Please make sure that people have earned the law degrees before you give them the degrees because they will be your ambassadors out there,” He said.
The Kabale District Resident District Commissioner Godfrey Nyakahuma asked the Kabale University Faculty of Law to invest in research and find out the solution to the problem of Money Lenders using the law to grab poor people’s land.
“We have been handling numerous cases in which the Money lenders take advantage of the financially disadvantaged locals here, to lure them into signing for Shs. 30 million for a land sold at Shs, 2 million.
Our people usually go to these Money Lenders to look for help in times of emergencies such as school fees and medical bills,” Nyakahuma said.
