Wrapping Up

My last full day on the ground in Uganda was again filled with meetings and introductions of David to the relevant participants in juvenile justice work placed before us.  Before the June departure of Shane Michael (David’s predecessor as a Pepperdine Nootbaar Fellow in Uganda), he and I drafted a funding proposal on behalf of the Uganda Christian Lawyer’s Fraternity (UCLF) for a large grant from an organization run by the Danish government.  This grant would provide UCLF with the resources to become the de facto lawyers for the imprisoned children of Uganda.  Since Uganda does not have a public defender’s office, which would otherwise provide free legal representation for those in conflict with the law, UCLF seeks to fill this gap.

On Monday, UCLF signed the grant papers and will immediately begin to staff up.  It was gratifying to be with the Director of UCLF on Tuesday (i) to celebrate the awarding of this grant, (ii) to introduce David to the UCLF team, and (iii) to strategize about next steps.  Naturally, UCLF is eager for the next J-FASTER session to get slated.

During the J-FASTER Pilot Program and the follow-on Masindi session, the prosecution (DPP) was a model of helpfulness and professionalism.  At every turn, the DPP embraced plea bargaining in the juvenile realm and remains positive about its eventual integration into the adult arena.  Yesterday was no exception.  David is now connected with the right people there and they welcome the beginning the next session of J-FASTER.

In that regard, our follow-up meetings with the court on Tuesday were quite encouraging.  It looks like a judge has been secured and the green light is on.  I have learned to manage my expectations here because green lights can turn yellow in a matter of moments, but we are cautiously optimistic that things will get going quite soon.  (Sorry for being vague here with respect to names and dates, but circumspection is required at this point).

Another opportunity has presented itself that could be quite important and interesting with respect to the Remand Homes.  Further discussions and investigation will take place in the coming weeks, but if this comes to fruition, the living conditions of the imprisoned kids of Uganda could see a material uptick.

I finally caught up with Bob Goff and his crew for dinner at the Fang Fang Restaurant.  Whenever Bob is in town, he shares a meal with his friends on the judiciary.  I was pleased to be able to assist him in setting this up, so we were joined by the top three judicial officers in the country – Chief Justice Odoki, Deputy Chief Justice (retired) Bahigeine, and Principal Judge Bamwine.  A great time was had by all.

Bob and David with Uganda's Top Three Judges

As usual, Bob was in high spirits and it was good to see him on this side of the world.  Bob was here in Uganda for the graduation ceremony for the school in Gulu called Restore Leadership Academy that was founded and run by Bob’s organization Restore International.  At graduation every year, Bob rocks the kids’ world with something new and different.  This year actually expanded their world.  I don’t want spoil the story I am sure will be told soon by Bob and those who were eyewitnesses, but suffice it to say that it involved a space launch, the cargo of which ended up in the quite puzzled hands of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s military.  When the details and footage become available, I will provide a link.

I have a few more meetings on Wednesday before boarding an 11:30 p.m. flight home, but will also be hanging out with Bob and some others at a place I visited with Bob last year at this time for what was A Day I Will Never Forget.