On Tuesday afternoon, parliament paid a heartfelt tribute to the late Supreme Court Judge Rubby Opio Aweri.On December 7, 2022, Justice Aweri, 69, passed away at Mulago National Referral Hospital after suffering a stroke.
This marked the end of 39 years of what many of his supporters referred to as his “distinguished judicial career.”
The casket carrying Aweri’s remains was adorned with the national flag when it arrived at parliament. Before the casket was escorted into the lobby and later into the chambers for a state funeral, speaker Anita Among and Government Chief Whip Denis Hamson Obua were given possession of it.
Among praised Aweri as having a brilliant legal intellect and serving the bench with unwavering passion, humility, and dedication. He added that Uganda will miss him for sure and according to her, Justice Aweri was particularly interested in law and practice, criminal and civil litigation, environmental law, and management.
During a session presided over by Among, dozens of lawmakers, ministers, and high-ranking officials, led by Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo Chigamoi, paid their respects to the late judge.
It came after Robinah Nabbanja, the primer, called for a resolution of parliament to honor the late judge. Nabbanja said Aweri Opio was a true legal expert who devoted his life to the judiciary.
Mathias Mpuuga, the leader of the opposition, seconded the motion and urged other judicial officers to follow in Aweri’s footsteps by describing him as an “exceptional” career judicial officer who during his tenure in the administration of justice successfully resolved the backlog of court cases.
The dean of independent legislators and Utembe Country MP Livingstone David Zijjan seconded the premier’s motion and praised Aweri’s record of criticizing corruption and indifference while using his legal expertise as a tool to right wrongs rather than as a weapon of punishment.
According to Zijjan, with compassion, humility, and sincerity, justice Awari Administered Justice. In his view, the law should be utilized to address mistakes rather than to prosecute or repress people. The country of Uganda should be proud of him and the legacy he has left behind.
Zijjan stated that justice Aweri criticized the indifference and corruption in their institutions and that they owed him a better country as they bid him farewell.
When Justice Aweri was appointed the “inspector of courts” in 2017 and served in that capacity until his death, Nobert Mao, the minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, who knew justice Aweri personally, expressed gratitude for the deceased’s humanity, propensity for hard work, and intolerance of judicial corruption.
Justice Aweri was described as a modest person who served with meekness according to the Minister of State of Defence, Hon. Jacob Markson’s Oboth. According to Hon. Obiga Kania, Minister of State for Urban Development, Justice Aweri was a humble man who presided over his court session with the utmost integrity.
Dokolo District Woman MP, Hon. Cecilia said that Justice Aweri Opio was a humorous man who genuinely cared about his community. According to her, he was a giant in his humility.
The lawmakers changed the proposal and suggested that significant highways in the 15 newly founded communities be identified and given his honor.
Additionally, they suggested that Lango College in Lira City, where the deceased had started the resource mobilization process, have a cutting-edge library created there.
After nearly three hours of the plenary session, Speaker Among sine die adjourned the chamber. Aweri will be laid to rest at his ancestral home in Acugapenyi Cell, in the Dokolo district on Friday, December 16.
To the late Samwiri Opio Aweri in the Dokolo District, Justice Aweri was born in 1953. He had a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from Makerere University and the Law Development Centre (LDC), as well as a diploma in legal practice.
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In the Soroti District, he began his profession in 1982 as a legal assistant. Opio Aweri was first appointed as a grade one magistrate in 1983. He then steadily advanced through the ranks and was appointed a judge of the High Court in 1998.
Before being appointed to the Supreme Court in September 2015, he was elevated to the Uganda Court of Appeal in 2014. The Judiciary appointed him as the next Chief Inspector of Courts in August 2017 for a three-year tenure.
People in the entire Lango sub-region, who regarded Aweri as a jovial, down-to-earth, diligent, humble, and selfless servant, were stunned by his passing on December 7, 2022. The late justice’s older brother Levi Okodi said that his family is devastated by the passing.
Okodi described his brother as a helpful individual whose passing has deprived the family as well as all of Uganda.
Former Land Minister and high court counsel Daniel Omara Atubo call Opio Aweri somebody who has improved in professionalism and who should be admired.
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