PROFILE: Who Are the Two Deputy DPPs Appointed by President Museveni

President Yoweri Museveni has appointed Mr. Asiimwe John Baptist and Mr. Byansi George William Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions.

Asiimwe is long serving career prosecutors with over 20 years work experience in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

Before their appointment, Asiimwe has been a Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions heading the Department of International Cooperation, while Byansi was the substantive Head of Department of Field Operations and the Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Management Support Services.

The structure of the ODPP provides for four directorates, two of which fell vacant upon the appointment of Mr. Wagona Vincent and Ms. Komuhangi Alice Khaukha by His Excellency the President to the bench.

According to a press release signed by Jacquelyn Okui, the Public Relations Officer at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP); ‘’the two appointees will head the Directorate of Management Support Services which is responsible for coordinating and managing administrative, logistical and other support services essential for the operations of the institution, and the Directorate of Inspections, Quality Assurance, Research and Training which is responsible for enforcement of performance standards, measures, systems and practices to promote efficient and effective management of public prosecutions and fair administration of justice’’.

Additionally, Mr. Odiit Andrew, Ms. Nabaasa Carolyn Hope and Mr. Mulindwa Badru have been elevated from the rank of Senior Assistant DPP to the rank of Principal Assistant DPP.

GEORGE WILLIAM BYANSI

Mr. Byansi has worked with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions since June 1999, when he joined as a Pupil State Attorney. Over the years, he has served the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in various stations and capacities, quickly rising through the ranks.

He worked as a Resident State Attorney in several districts until he was elevated to a Regional Officer and later Head of Department. He worked as Resident State Attorney in Kabale, Masaka, Hoima, Tororo and Makindye before he was assigned higher responsibilities of Assistant DPP and posted to Soroti as the pioneer Regional Officer where he was charged with supervising the 14 ODPP stations (Resident State Attorney and Resident State Prosecutor) in Teso and Karamoja.

Due to his hard work, he didn’t serve in Soroti for long before he was spotted and brought back to Headquarters to head the then newly created Department of General Case Work to manage and coordinate high court sessions, champion plea bargain sessions and streamline the handling of general crime cases across the ODPP countrywide.

In 2018, he was promoted to the rank of Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions and moved to head the Department of Field Operations where he has been up to his present elevation to Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions.

As the head of Field Operations he has been responsible for planning, managing, monitoring and evaluating the performance of all ODPP field and regional offices as well as maintaining effective communication and coordination between them and the Head Office. He has also been responsible for establishing and maintaining collaborations and linkages between field stations and other key stakeholders in criminal justice at the district and national level.

He has been instrumental in the successful operationalisation of the ODPP regional offices in 16 major cities, municipalities and towns of Arua, Gulu, Fort Portal, Jinja, Kabale, Kampala, Lira, Masaka, Masindi, Mbale, Mbarara, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakawa and Soroti.

Mr Byansi has been key in extending the presence and impact of the DPP’s office to more districts and courts across the country. Although gaps still exist due to resource constraints, ODPP now boasts of a presence in 95 out of the current 135 districts at 143 locations countrywide, with most of the offices in now ODPP owned premises.

Since September 2021, he has been caretaking the Directorate of Management Support Services, in addition to his duties of Head of Department of Field Operations.

He is very familiar with policy, planning, budgeting, procurement and performance management issues not only in the ODPP but in the entire Justice, Law and Order Sector.

Mr. Byansi holds an LLB(Hons) from Makerere University, a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from LDC, a Post Graduate Diploma in Project planning & Management from Uganda Management Institute (UMI) and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute (ESAMI).

JOHN BAPTIST ASIIMWE

Asiimwe has been a Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). He has been a Public Prosecutor for the last 23 years having joined the office as Pupil State Attorney in 1999. He has risen through the ranks to the rank of Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions.

He has worked in and headed various field offices of the ODPP including Rukungiri, Fort Portal, Kabale, and Mbarara. He also worked at the Head Office and as Regional Officer, Mbarara. He is one of the Prosecutors who started the War Crimes Unit of the ODPP in 2008 which later become the International Crimes Department. He headed the Anti- Terrorism Unit, International Crimes Department, and International Cooperation and Asset Recovery Departments.

Mr. Asiimwe is a seasoned Public Prosecutor who has handled and prosecuted several complex cases of corruption, terrorism and related offences, human trafficking, drug trafficking and other transnational border crimes, murder, aggravated defilement, rape, aggravated robbery among others in various Courts of Judicature in the country. Notably are the 2010 Kampala terror (twin bombings’) case and the re-trial of the Kato Kajubi case in Masaka in 2012.

He is trained in prosecution and investigation of International Crimes, Economic Crimes, Asset Tracing and Recovery, Counter-Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism Financing, Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Human and Drug Trafficking and other transnational border crimes. He is a Trainer of Trainers in Anti-Money Laundering, Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and Terrorism Investigations. He is also trained in Trial Advocacy and Supervisory Skill Development.

He has attended several management courses both within and outside the country and executed various administrative and management assignments. In addition, he has chaired and participated in various policy, planning and management assignments.

In the execution of his duties, he has trained, supervised and mentored several officers within the ODPP.

Mr. Asiimwe holds a Master Degree in Business Administration (MBA) of Mbarara University of Science and Technology, a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (Dip. LP) from Law Development Centre, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB Hons) from Makerere University and several certificates in both professional and management courses from both local and international Institutions. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda.