KAMPALA– President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni basing on powers granted to him under the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda has appointed Lady Justice Frances Abodo as the new Principal judge, replacing Dr. Flavian Zeija who has was recently appointed Deputy Chief Justice.
“In exercise of the powers vested in the President by Article 142(1) of
the 1995 Constitution, I have acting on the advice of the Judicial
Service Commission appointed Hon. Lady Justice Abodo Jane
Frances as a Principal Judge.” Reads part of the Appointment letter from the President
It’s on that basis that , the President has forwarded Abodo’s name and CV to Parliament for approval.
I hereby confirm that the letter circulating on social media regarding appointment of Hon. Lady Justice Jane Francis Abodo as the new Principal Judge is authentic.” Remarked Farouk Kirunda, Special Presidential Assistant – Press & Mobilization
He also added that Abodo’s name has been forwarded to Parliament for the necessary approval.
The above clarification has ruled out rumors which have been circulating on various social media platforms, that this information may not be true.
Lady Justice Okuo Kajuga has been the one heading the office of Principal judge under Acting Capacity.
Abodo has been the head of the ODPP for close to five years now ever since her appointment in 2020 , she has registered a number of achievements and reforms.
She was born on August 18, 1973 in Karamoja, Northern Uganda and attended school; St Mary’s College Aboke in Lira, Trinity College Nabbingo, Uganda Management Institute, Makerere University, LDC, and Trinity College Dublin- Ireland where she mastered in law. She married to Remegio Achia.
March 2018 to 2020 , she was a Judge of the High Court, attached to the Criminal Division.
Responsibilities
In September 2018, she was appointed Judge in charge of Sexual Gender Based Violence cases in the Judiciary. From the time I was appointed in this position I have disposed of over 300 cases of sexual gender based violence, specifically those involving aggravated defilement of young girls below the age of 10 years.
November 2018, appointed Judge in charge of Plea Bargain in the Judiciary. During my time as the Judge in charge of Plea bargain, in addition to participating in training of stakeholders on plea bargain procedures, she has personally participated in going to prison camps to handle cases of plea bargain. This has yielded some good results because now for the first time the number of convicted prisoners is higher than those on remand.
To this end Abodo has participated in the disposal of over 800 cases in Mbarara, Bushenyi, Kampala, Maindi, Gulu, Nakasongola to mention but a few.
Experience
2017 – 2018: Position-Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions
She handled General Administration of the Department, i.e. Prosecuting high profile corruption cases, directing police on proper investigations by use of prosecution led investigations with focus on not only the crime but also the assets, managing staff under me which included state Attorneys, investigators and support staff. Liaising with other JLOS stakeholders.
2015 Position: Head of Anti-Corruption Department in DPP’s office
Focal Point For Eastern Africa Association of Anti-corruption Authorities & Asset Recovery Inter Agency Network For Eastern Africa
Global Focal Point for Asset Recovery.
Team building; I had a team of 38 dedicated staff 15 of whom are lawyers, 11 police officers and the rest are support staff.
General administration of the department
Manage finances of the department and account for the same at the end of every month.
Prosecution of cases at the department. She personally prosecuted the first Kazinda case, arising from the OPM saga and the Ministry of Public Service case (Bicycle case) (both cases ended with convictions and the convicts are serving high prison terms with a possibility of financial recoveries) Handle appeals in the high court, court of appeal and Supreme Court, especially fraud cases since hers was a specialized department.
Represented the DPP at the Court Users meetings at the Anti-corruption court where all court users meet to discuss issues concerning prosecution of corruption cases. She was member of the Contracts Committee of the DPP.
2010- 2014: Senior Principal State Attorney to manage the human resource in the newly created section of DPP, To plan and manage team building activities, to provide oversight and guidance to the daily administration work of the section.
She participated in the prosecution of cases at different levels, plan and manage the capacity building Program for staff in section, ensure quality control of filed cases for accuracy and well-reasoned.
Achievement
Administration; she was the head of the station and managing the running of the station.
Perusal of police files; she was in charge of allocating all police files brought to the station to all the prosecutors under me. I also perused files and directed police on investigations.
Prosecutions
she prosecuted cases and also monitored other prosecutions by making sure that the prosecutors are prosecuting efficiently and effectively for better results in terms of convictions.
