The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is established under Article 120 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.

It is charged with the duty of instituting criminal proceedings in all Courts with competent jurisdiction except the court martial.

It is exactly 2 years and 28 days since I was a Prosecutor in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).  Prior to going to the Bench, I worked in the ODPP for 19 years. I have enjoyed this short period at the Bench as a Judge of the High Court (Criminal Division). I am now back to my alma mater on special assignment as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of our country.  

It is with deep and profound gratitude that I thank His Excellency the President of the Republic of Uganda, on my own behalf and that of my family, for his confidence in me. First, for appointing me as a Judge of the High Court two years ago, and now, for this new assignment as Director of Public Prosecutions of the Republic of Uganda. This is a historic moment for me, a historic moment for the people of Karamoja, a historic moment for Prosecutors, as well as a historic moment for the women of Uganda.

I note the remarkable progress made by the previous DPPs, especially recent initiatives by Hon. Justice Mike Chibita and Hon. Justice Richard Buteera. Key among these include deepening the ODPP presence and closer supervision of prosecutors through the establishment of 16 Regional Offices across the country, construction of 32 new offices and expansion of ODPP presence to about 108 stations across the country, establishment of specialized departments among other initiatives.

I also extend my gratitude to Mr. Elem-Ogwal, the Deputy DPP (Prosecutions) and the entire Top Management of the ODPP for ably standing in the gap when Justice Mike Chibita was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court.

As the ODPP, we charged with the duty to direct criminal investigations and institute criminal proceedings against any person or authority in any Court with competent jurisdiction other than the Court Martial. We are the foot soldiers of justice. We are the lawyers for the people. We are commanded to deliver justice for the people of Uganda and the World. We prosecute on behalf of the people of Uganda because every crime is an act of aggression against the whole of society of which a particular victim is a member. In the Criminal Justice process, the people seek redress and proportionate justice. We make the decision to charge or not to charge. We go to court to ensure that justice is dispensed with, in equal and even-handed manner, at all times. We must do this within the parameters of our Constitution, related laws and regulations, while dressed in the armor of utmost independence, impartiality, professionalism, skill and integrity. The ultimate objective is to ensure public safety and security. Any threat to these two tenets is at the core of our decision to charge/prosecute or not to. We shall favor no one. We shall fear no one. We shall ensure that justice wins, and justice must always win.

I will build on the achievements of my predecessors by focusing on a number of key critical areas namely: - recruitment of more prosecutors in order to cover all courts and magisterial areas, re-organization and re-deployments informed by specialization, the needs of our clients, the people and the need to reduce case backlog, developing internal capacity to prosecute complex crimes such as cyber crime, establishment of a Cyber Crime Unit under the Anti-Corruption Department (ACD), establishing a Prosecutors Academy to re-skill and re-tool our prosecutors, developing Land Crimes Guidelines to provide guidance to our prosecutors, streamlining registry file management and complaints handling system to ensure quick and speedy processing of information,  putting in place comprehensive guidelines to provide guidance to the prosecutors on the exercise of the decision to charge, ensuring that all guidelines relating to prosecution are comprehensively reviewed, and compiled into one Compendium of ‘ODPP Guidelines for Prosecutors in Uganda’, developing improved data collection and reporting formats and in-build them in the Prosecution Case Management System (PROCAMIS) platform, and ensuring that the ODPP Bill for the operationalization of Article 120 of the Constitution that establishes the ODPP is passed as an Act.

I stand for building personal brands dressed in integrity, hard work, flexibility, strong professionalism and consistent growth. I shall therefore have zero tolerance to unethical and corrupt individuals. The ODPP should be seen to be transparent, accountable and a champion of justice.

FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY

JUSTICE JANE FRANCES ABODO

 DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS