Justice Ogoola Slams Govt over China Executions Justice Ogoola says government should do more to save its people facing problems in foreign countries Execution by Chinese government of two Ugandans on drug trafficking offenses recently has put government of Uganda on the spot. Government is being accused of not availing much support to its citizens now deceased while they awaited their fate in Chinese jails. While speaking exclusively to our reporter on the fate of Omar Ddamulira and Andrew Ngobi who were killed in May and June respectively, Principal Judge James Ogoola said that government could perhaps, have done more to save their lives. We do not have much information about what transpired ahead of the execution, and I don’t want to be overly speculative, but it’s unlikely that our officials made enough follow up on this matter, he told us in an interview at Imperial Royale Hotel on Wednesday. Justice Ogoola said if officials at the Ugandan Embassy in China and other relevant officials back in Uganda were sufficiently available, they could perhaps charted a possible extradition or dialogued for more lenient sentences for the deceased. The whole essence of one carrying the passport of a given country, is that that person is carrying the flag of that country out there; and that country owes him/her all the necessary support, once in problems, he said. This is not necessarily about interfering in other nations systems and procedures, but being available when you are most needed. Ogoola went on to wonder whether in this case the Ugandan embassy officials ensured that the convicts had all the necessary legal assistance. Our diplomats should have been at the prison to take note of what is going on and to gauge whether the prisoners rights were not being violated, noted the former Principal Judge. According to available information, about 22 more Ugandans are locked up in Chinese cells awaiting the gallows on similar offenses. Justice Ogoola noted that the execution of the first two should be an eye-opener for government to move in and do something for the rest. That should send us into full gear to see to it that all responsible officials at our embassy and the Foreign Affairs Ministry engage with authorities in China to save the lives of the others, he concluded
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 10:47:15 +0000
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