After our successful mutual legal assistance (MLA) training in Kenya the EU team arrived with high expectations in Uganda.
We were not disappointed!
The delegates drafted their own MLA Manual under the guidance of my fellow French and Spanish experts. The Manual will now be submitted for official endorsement by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions – to aide Ugandan Prosecutors making international enquiries.
The Manual is available on the Greater Horn of Africa MLA website – as a tool to assist regional partners.
The role of a Prosecutor has not been easy in recent times in Uganda following the killing of a senior attorney involved in the trial of a dozen men accused of belonging to the Somali armed group al-Shabaab and strike action over pay.
According to the current salary structure of Prosecutors the lowest ranking state Prosecutor earns a gross salary of Shs644,963 a month ($180 USD) – with the highest paid prosecutor at the rank of Senior Principal State Attorney taking a gross monthly pay of Shs2.1m ($585USD).
Despite these pressures the Prosecutors were dedicated and committed. To demonstrate this – the winning team in our emergency terrorist exercise secured the evidence in 1 hour 45 minutes and 23 seconds – missing out on the best time by just 5 seconds to the Kenyan team.
We hope – as the Ugandan proverb says – we have played our part to add some wisdom to the knowledge!
