At the CMJA Conference in Kingston, Jamaica (20–24 September 2026), I presented Uganda’s paper in Session 6a, Judicial Bullying and Harassment: Could It Happen to You?, originally authored by His Worship Kaweesa Godfrey.
The paper asks a hard question: can a judge be free from government interference and still be afraid of their own judiciary’s leadership? Judicial independence is threatened not only from outside but also from within, through humiliation, unfair workloads, unexplained transfers, exclusion from training, biased reviews and retaliation after complaints. The problem is not power itself, but its abuse.
The paper proposes a simple FAIR test for decisions affecting judicial officers (Fairness, Authority, Intention, Reasonableness) and invites the CMJA to develop a Commonwealth Framework on Judicial Workplace Dignity and Internal Judicial Independence. Its closing message: judicial independence is also the freedom to serve without fear of improper treatment from within one’s own judiciary.
The Panel
I shared the platform with the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, GCON, the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria and only the second woman to hold the office. She has served on the Supreme Court of Nigeria since July 2013, and on assuming office placed the appointment and discipline of judges at the top of her reform agenda. Her presence gave the session particular weight, as few leaders are better placed to speak on balancing judicial discipline with fairness.
Also on the panel was Mrs Justice Charmaine Pemberton of Trinidad and Tobago’s Court of Appeal, who was reappointed to her country’s Judicial and Legal Service Commission in April 2025 and is a trained mediator and certified judicial trainer.
The session was chaired by Bailiff Robert MacRae, who serves as both presiding officer of Jersey’s States Assembly and the Island’s chief judge.
Download the full paper below.
