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INAUGURAL SPEECH BY MR. TWINOBUSINGYE SEVERINOPRESIDENT – CATHOLIC LAWYERS SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL AT THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCH OF THE SOCIETY’S ACTIVITIES – APRIL29, 2023 AT ST AUGUSTINE’S INSTITUTE, NSAMBYA, KAMPALA, UGANDA- EAST AFRICA.

Your Excellency, Jessica Alupo, the Vice President of the Republic of Uganda and our Chief Guest,

My lord. The Hon. Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny – Dollo- The Hon. The Chief Justice of Uganda,

The Rt. Hon. Amama Mbabazi Senior Counsel – Prime Minister Emeritus of the Republic of Uganda,

My Lords, The Hon Justices and Judges of the Courts of Judicature,

The Hon. Members of Parliament,

My Lord, the Rt. Rev. Giuseppe Filippi MCCJ, our Patron and main celebrant,

The Very Rev. Msgr. Dr. Philip Lokel PhD our Chaplain and Members of the clergy,

The Catholic Lawyers Society Board, Management, Administration and staff,

Fellow professional colleagues,

Everyone in his or her respective honour,

Ladies and gentlemen.

Your Excellency, I feel profoundly honored and exceedingly humbled to welcome you to this historic occasion when we launch the activities of the Catholic Lawyers Society International. I would also like to welcome everyone from around the world is attending this function virtually.

Your Excellency and my Lords, the Catholic Lawyers Society International is an organization consisting of the Roman Catholic lawyers from all walks of life; they are dedicated to the study and practice of the law and promoting justice for everyone equally around the world.

Our current membership spans across all the five continents of: Africa, Europe, Asia, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. They are mainly from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Nigeria, South Africa, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the United States of America.

Your Excellency and my Lords, our members are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and competence in the study, teaching and practice of the law in the world faced with the challenges of injustice, unemployment, poverty, violence and war.

We should have launched our programs earlier in the year 2020 but our progress was hampered by the global challenges of Covid-19 pandemic and later the Ebola outbreak Virus disease here in Uganda. However, we have been working tirelessly within the available human possibilities to advance our mission to reach all corners of the globe, the challenges of Covid19 and Ebola outbreak notwithstanding.

Your Excellency and my Lords, our vision is to be an institution and center of excellence in championing the rule of law and a just world.

Our mission and our motto is Justitia omnibus -Justice for all. It reflects our commitment to working for and promoting justice at all levels and for all people irrespective of creed or race in the world.

Our Patron Saint is St. John Paul II. He championed justice and peace for all people irrespective of race or creed around the world. He emphasized the importance of respect for the principle of subsidiarity, rule of law, good governance, and accountability. His visit to Uganda in 1993 serves as a testament to his commitment to these ideals.

Your Excellency and my Lords, our members are accomplished legal professionals of great learning.

They are distinguished in their respective countries as persons committed to making a difference in their communities and in their day today teaching and practice of the law.

Our major goal is the strategic social transformation that enables justice for all. As learned friends, who were reared and well educated, we cannot sit in our chambers and leave society to deteriorate before our own eyes.

Your Excellency and my Lords, the news reported on the 3rd and 4th February 2023, at the end of the Judges Annual Conference in Uganda, that the Uganda Judiciary has a backlog of over 50,000 cases is not something for us to sweep under the carpet.

There is need therefore, to analyze these court cases, identify the core issues and root causes which are systematically eating up the fabric of our society. Our times are faced with a moral crisis.

As lawyers engaged in all aspects of our society, we are privy to special knowledge and information which puts us in a unique position to know the real issues and challenges of our society.

Therefore, our responsibility is not and cannot by any stretch of imagination be limited only to finding legal solutions but to go a step further and identify both root causes and find solutions to concrete issues and challenges that the people and the world are facing today.

Your Excellency and my Lords, among the strategic issues that we have planned to address in the next three years in collaboration with Governments, the Catholic Church and all stakeholders include but are not limited to the following:

1. Protecting life and health of the people and tackling the injustice caused by substandard and falsified medical products on the market.
2. Finding a lasting solution to the growing phenomenon of street children and the disabled persons and taking care of the most vulnerable in our society.
3. Tackling the root causes of slums in cities such as Katanga slum here in Kampala, Uganda; Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya; Khayelitsha slum in Cape Town in South Africa; Makoko slum in Lagos in Nigeria etc. This will be in a bid to develop decent and affordable housing to meet the needs of the growing population especially in Africa.
4. Protection of the environment by taking steps to curb carbon emissions in the atmosphere and promoting afforestation. This is as emphasized by the Holy Father, Pope Francis in his encyclical, Laudato si – care for our common home.
5. Intervention in the field of education by teaching, setting up universities and promoting ICT and digital revolution. This strategy further involves development of skills and talent at all levels of education where we are involved.
6. Provision of Legal Aid and Probono services to indigent persons and vulnerable communities.
7. Provision of continuing legal education to our members to inculcate the principle of strict adherence to the rule of law in our work. This is because, respect to the rule of law is the highest measure of civilization for any country in the world.
8. Engagement in Strategic litigation to promote justice and peace around the globe.

Your Excellency and my Lords, these broad tasks that we have embarked on entail part of our corporate social responsibility to society for it to enjoy justice and human rights. However, in our pursuit of the said targets, we are convinced beyond human contradiction that society cannot benefit from our efforts if we do not take appropriate and pragmatic steps in the areas we have identified.

As earlier mentioned, our strategic objectives include improving stakeholder skills, reducing costs in the adjudication of cases, defending those who cannot afford to pay for the high costs of legal representation, raising stakeholder awareness and raising funds to meet our set targets.

By achieving these objectives, we believe that we will have made an important contribution to making the world a happy place to live in, fostering justice, peace and integral human development.

Your Excellency and my Lords, I am happy to introduce to you our management, operating structures and the team members who are working tirelessly to make the vision and mission of Catholic Lawyers Society International a reality.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

1. Twinobusingye Severino – President.
2. Hannibal Egbe Uwaifo – Vice President.
3. John Mary M. Mugisha SC – Secretary.
4. Asiimwe Annitah Patience – Treasurer.
5. Sr. Juliet Musoke – Rep Central Uganda Ecclesiastical Province.
6. Jogo Tabu Peter -Rep Northern Uganda Ecclesiastical Province.
7. Tibaijuka K. Ateenyi -Rep Western Uganda Ecclesiastical Province.
8. Everest Loitakori – Rep Eastern Uganda Ecclesiastical Province.
9. Paola Fudakoswska – Rep UK Affairs.
10. Dominic Ntokozo Mjiyako – Rep South Africa Affairs.
11. Mbula Nzuki – Rep Great Lakes Region Affairs.

BOARD OF ADVISORS

1. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Filippi Giuseppe MCCJ Patron – Chairperson
2. The Very Rev. Msgr. Dr. Philip Lokel PhD – Chaplain
3. The Very Rev. Msgr. Dr. Silverio Twinomugisha PhD.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

1. Rev. Fr. Dr. Deusdedit Kigandi Nkurunziza Ph.D.  Chairperson
2. Sr. Dr. Leonida K. Katunge Ph.D. Vice Chairperson
3. Henry Kyarimpa Corporation Secretary
4. Dr. Albert Mumma Ph.D.
5. Dr. Scholarstica Awino Ollando Omondi Ph.D.
6. Dr. Denis Bikesha Ph.D.
7. Prof. Isaac Shai LL.D.

HEALTH & MEDICAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

1. Prof. Dr. Romano Nkumbwa Byaruhanga Ph.D.  Chairperson.
2. Rev. Sr. Dr. Vincentina Achola Ph.D.
3. Jerome Mugisha.
4. John Bosco Mutakirwa.
5. Doreen Ashaba.

ACADEMIC ADVISORY COUNCIL

1. Dr. Mubangizi John Ph.D. – Chairperson
2. Rev. Sr. Dr. Dipio Dominic Ph.D.
3. Fr. Dr. Sylvester Arinaitwe Rwomukubwe Ph.D.
4. Fr. Dr. Abel Bainomugisha Ph.D.
5. Fr. Denis Kizito Kiyenje.

THE SECRETARIAT

1. Jovita Tukahirwa Byamugisha – CEO. Head – Secretariat.
2. Joseph Kibuuka Kisomba Ph.D. – Consultant – Finance.
3. Orikiriza Innocent – Consultant technology & Infrastructure.
4. Alex Bagyenzire Atuhaire – Consultant – PR.
5. Bernard Fred Tebandeke – Consultant – IT.
6. Adam Walusimbi – Consultant – Media & Content Creation.
7. Rutaremwa Richard – Consultant – Audit & Accounts.
8. Charles Odongotho – Consultant – Media.

Your Excellency and my Lords, permit me to take this opportunity to thank our main celebrant and Patron the Rt. Rev. Giuseppe Filippi, Bishop Emeritus of Kotido Catholic Diocese and the concelebrants for leading us in the Celebration of the Red Mass.

Your Excellency and my Lords, the Catholic Lawyers Societies throughout the world, celebrate the Red Mass every year in order to invoke divine guidance and strength during every new law year.

The Red Mass is celebrated in invocation of the Holy Spirit as the source of wisdom, understanding, counsel, and fortitude, the talents that shine forth pre-eminently in the dispensation of justice in the courtroom as well as in the individual Counsel’s Chambers.

Your Excellency and my Lords, as we have done today, during the celebration of Red Mass, prayers are offered for all men and women in the legal profession, the judiciary, and public life, praying that they be blessed with wisdom and understanding. All members of the legal profession are therefore welcome to the Red Mass, regardless of their creed.

Your Excellency and my Lords, am therefore glad to announce that this Red Mass that we have cerebrated today has marked the beginning of Red Mass in our Calendar as legal professionals and it shall henceforth be celebrated every year.

Your Excellency and my Lords, in addition to cerebrating the Red Mass today, we have come together to launch the following activities of our society for the next three years:

1. CATHOLIC LAWYERS SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL (CLASI) LAW REPORT

This will be published annually. The annual publication of CLASI LAW REPORT is intended to provide an invaluable resource of up to date contemporaneous jurisprudence. It is a tool that will enable all judicial officers and counsel to dispense justice to all more efficiently and effectively. This is also a tool to help in-depth analysis in the process of research, teaching and practice of the law.

2. CLASI JUSTICE JOURNAL

This will also be published annually. The annual publication of CLASI JUSTICE JOURNAL is meant to provide to the members and the public a platform for research and informed dialogue on critical global issues such as climate change that currently affect our society. Therefore, Members and interested stakeholders are invited to send to the Chief Editor the scholarly articles for publication at our website https://clsil.org/

3. LEGAL AID AND PRO BONO SERVICES

This is one of our key projects through which we provide legal aid and pro bono services to indigent persons and vulnerable communities. This includes helping them to navigate the complex legal systems; providing legal representation in courts of law. This intervention helps to ensure that the indigent persons have equal access to justice.

4. PROTECTION OF LIFE AND HEALTH OF CITIZENS

Currently the use of substandard, falsified and expired medical products is on the rise. This includes both human and veterinary drugs. Guided by CLASI Health and Medical Advisory Council, the Catholic Lawyers Society International is to carry out research and analysis to enable identify gaps in the medicine supply chain and inform policy recommendations to help tackle the injustice caused by the substandard, falsified and expired health products on the market. Our strategy is to work with governments and all stakeholders to address these challenges and ensure that citizens are using and consuming safe health products.

5. RULE OF LAW AND STRATEGIC LITIGATION

This is a method and a tool that we shall employ through CLASI Rule of Law and Strategic Litigation Committee to ensure that human rights are protected and respected by all stakeholders at all levels. This further underlines the principle that no one is above the law.

6. SECURITY OF LAND TENURE FOR INDIGENT PERSONS AND VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES

Your Excellency and my Lords, due to the growing population, the pressure on the limited land resource is likely to increase in the reasonably foreseeable future. This has further been aggravated by the current phenomenon of trespass to land and land grabbing. In such circumstances, the Catholic Lawyers Society International is to advocate for land policies and laws that promote land justice for all.

Your Excellency and my Lords, while in our current socio-economic system, everyone is entitled to land, this may have to change as developing countries evolve to a higher level of civilization and industrialization. It is prudent to consider adopting policies that allow only high-rise buildings so as to optimally use land. Your Excellency and my Lords, we shall specifically address security of the land tenure for indigent persons especially orphans, widows, the elderly, disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.

For example, there is a growing phenomenon and a rising number of court cases involving criminal trespass on church land. The Catholic Lawyers Society International therefore is raising funds to carry out a pilot project to secure, survey and title all Catholic Church land for the Registered Trustees of the Catholic Dioceses of Kotido, Kabale and others that may need.

This will further help the Catholic Church to plan and use their land resources effectively for sustainable income generating enterprises as a strategy of poverty eradication in their respective dioceses.

7. STRATEGIC INTERVENTION TO CATER FOR THE STREET CHILDREN

Your Excellency and my Lords, in the pursuit of justice for all, the Catholic Lawyers Society International cannot keep its eyes closed to the growing phenomenon of street children and vulnerable people on the streets of our cities. Therefore, the Catholic Lawyers Society International shall spearhead the process and work with key stakeholders to develop functional centers to receive, care and educate the vulnerable children on the streets of our cities and reunite them with their families.

8. ICT CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE

Your Excellency and my Lords, as earlier mentioned, one of our interventions in education is to promote ICT and digital skilling at all levels of education where we are involved.

In this regard, we have planned to set up ICT Centres of Excellence at the following places:

1. Poullart Des Places Secondary School, Newman Primary School and Newman Nursery School in Nyamirama Town Council, Kanungu District, in Kabale Catholic Diocese in Uganda;
2. Ogongoja Secondary School in Ogongoja sub county in Katakwi District, Soroti Catholic Diocese in Uganda;
3. Stephen Secondary School in Katakwi Town Council, Katakwi District, Soroti Catholic Diocese in Uganda;
4. St. Mary’s Madera Secondary School in Soroti City East, Soroti District, Soroti Catholic Diocese in Uganda.

9. LEADERSHIP TRAINING CENTER

Your Excellency and my Lords, the Catholic Lawyers Society International has planned to build a leadership training center in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan area in Uganda.

It will be the Administrative Headquarters but more so, a place where members and stakeholders come and learn to listen to the voice of God in the scriptures, in their hearts and in society.

Your Excellency and my Lords, this has been informed by our research findings to the effect that the core of our society’s fabric has been almost eroded by moral decadence. Today more than ever, we are facing a moral crisis in our society.

In this regard, this leadership training center will serve as a retreat center with a chapel and all other necessary life-giving facilities including a library, seminar rooms, a conference center, gardens, sports facilities, and a children center. This center is to enable members and stakeholders to develop a spirituality that motivates and inspires them in carrying out their duties; supporting them to be transformational leaders that lead by example.

Furthermore, this center is to provide Continuous legal education to strengthen the capacity of the members and stakeholders.

10. KARAMOJA PEACE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

Your Excellency and my lords, focusing on the phenomenon of the street children on the streets of Kampala brought to our attention the situation of Karamoja sub region in Uganda.

Most of the street children on the streets of Ugandan cities are said to be from Karamoja sub region.

Therefore, there is urgent need to take a new strategic approach to the question of Karamoja sub region and the Great Lakes region in general.

To achieve a people and culture centered approach, we have planned to set up a vibrant and dynamic University in Karamoja that focuses on developing peace in the region and work with the leaders and the population to identify their needs and interests so as to live a better-quality life.

The purpose of this university is to conduct strategic research and facilitate the process of a paradigm shift, change of attitude and change of mindset at all levels.

Your Excellency and my Lords, Karamoja sub region has been neglected for 146 years. This is from June, 1877 when Christian Missionaries first came to Uganda.

We are therefore convinced beyond human contradiction, and we have the firmness of resolve that this Karamoja Peace and Technology University that we have embarked on establishing in Kotido District of Karamoja sub region in Uganda, will provide the necessary platform to make a difference and provide especially to the youth with inspiration and new opportunities like the rest of all of us.

CRITICAL STRATEGIC DECISIONS

Your Excellency and my Lords, in order to get the assignment quickly executed and after due process, I have the honour and privilege to make known the following critical strategic decisions that have been made.

1. That His Excellency. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda is the Chancellor, Karamoja Peace and Technology University.
2. That Twinobusingye Severino is the Chairperson, University Council, Karamoja Peace and Technology University.
3. That Hon Kwiyucwiny Grace Freedom is the Vice Chairperson, University Council, Karamoja Peace and Technology University.
4. That Rev. Fr. Dr. Deusdedit Kigandi Nkurunziza Ph.D., is the Vice Chancellor of Karamoja Peace and Technology University.
5. That Paul Lochap is the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Karamoja Peace and Technology University.
6. That the Hon. Amama Mbabazi SC is the Regional and International Co-coordinator for the Catholic Lawyers Society International’s fundraising activities for Karamoja Peace and Technology University.
7. That other important appointments will be made in due course.

CONCLUSION

Your Excellency and my Lords, these activities we are launching today are only possible because of the financial support that we have received from our friends, benefactors and well-wishers.

Most particularly, we would like to extend our thanks to His Excellency, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the President of the Republic of Uganda and Her Excellency, Jessica Alupo, the Vice President of the Republic of Uganda for their invaluable support.

We would also like to thank the Hon. Kwiyucwiny Grace Freedom, our focal liaison person with the Government of Uganda for her indefatigable efforts in coordinating with the Government.

We would like to extend our thanks to the Rt. Hon. Amama Mbabazi SC, for his untiring efforts in coordinating our regional and international efforts.

We wish to extend our thanks to the Rt. Rev. Bishop Filippi Giuseppe MCCJ the Patron and Chairperson of the Advisory Board for his wise counsel and guidance in all our work.

We wish to extend our thanks to the Very. Rev. Msgr. Dr. Philip Lokel Ph.D., the Vicar General of Kotido Catholic Diocese, our Chaplain and Secretary to the Advisory Board for his counsel and availability whenever we need him.

I wish to extend our thanks to all our members around the world for their efforts in making this day a success.

Thank you so much each one of you for listening to me and for your kind attention.

Mr. Twinobusingye Severino – President

Catholic Lawyers Society International,

St. Augustine’s Institute Nsambya,

Kampala, Uganda, East Africa,

April 29, 2023.