SOROTI - A Soroti City-based Ugandan legal activist has criticized the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for failing to set a hearing date for a case he filed regarding UK and US sanctions against Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Anita Annet Among.

Joshua Okello initially filed a lawsuit on May 7, 2024, at the High Court Civil Division in Kampala, challenging the sanctions imposed on Speaker Among. When his efforts to obtain redress in Uganda failed, he escalated his legal campaign to the ECHR by lodging a complaint on June 4, 2024.

However, the ECHR has yet to address his case, prompting Okello to express frustration. On September 23, 2024, he formally lodged a complaint with the ECHR Registrar in Strasbourg, France, accusing the court of delaying justice for reasons he could not comprehend.

In a press release dated November 22, 2024, Okello alleged that the ECHR was exhibiting racial discrimination and undermining principles of justice. He stated that the court, which applies the European Convention on Human Rights, should not favor Europeans, despite its European focus.

“It’s tasked with ensuring states respect the rights and guarantees set out in the convention,” Okello argued. “What the French court has done over the case I filed defending Honorable Anita Among and Uganda at large is totally racial discrimination and shall never be forgotten.”

Okello expressed disappointment, stating that he did not expect such treatment from an international human rights court. Despite this, he vowed to take further legal action against the UK but refrained from specifying his next steps.

“I don’t need to speak out on my next legal punishment for the UK because warning is not a threat,” he remarked. “A spoken threat is a foolish warning to give to your enemies.”

Okello emphasized that his efforts constitute judicial activism, which he described as a philosophy encouraging courts to consider broader societal implications in their decisions.

Background

Okello’s September 23, 2024 letter to the ECHR Registrar highlighted his dissatisfaction with the delay in his case. “I am writing to inform you of a delay in the progress of my case, which I am handling under public interest litigation on behalf of Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament, Honorable Anita Annet Among,” he wrote.

He accused the ECHR of dishonesty and misconduct for not responding to his case, warning that such actions could exacerbate racial tensions. Okello urged the court to fix a hearing date, arguing that “justice delayed is justice denied” and that neglected justice could harm society.

The letter was also copied to President Yoweri Museveni and Speaker Anita Among.