UN Women, ADC Donate ICT Equipment to the Judiciary to Ease Handling of SGBV Cases
Mr Dan Bazira (left), the Interim Country Head - UN Women, Dr Kremser Roswitha (right), Head - Australian Development Cooperation handing over equipment to Hon. Justice Dr. Zeija (middle) at the High Court
On Thursday January27, 2022, the Principal Judge, Dr Flavian Zeija, received ICT Equipment from UN Women with funding from the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC).
The new 30 desktops, printers and two court recording equipment aim at making processes more timely and strengthening data collection, ultimately resulting in increased access to justice.
The equipment, which was handed over to the Criminal Division and High Court circuits of Soroti, Gulu, and Fort Portal, is meant to facilitate the expedited handing of Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) cases.
Others to benefit are the Chief Magistrates Courts of Fort Portal, Soroti, Gulu, Moroto, Tororo, Buganda Road and Kasese.
The Principal Judge expressed his gratitude to UN Women and ADC for the donation. He pledged his commitment to support the effective implementation of all initiatives under the project to ensuring timely access to justice for women and girls.
"The support will help in accelerating the realization of one of our utmost priorities of strengthening the use of Information Communication Technology in the administration of justice," he said.
The Chief Registrar, HW Sarah Langa Siu, described the donation as timely and would help in addressing the challenges faced by Judicial Officers. She said that the same is expected to facilitate the fast tracking of GBV cases.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Judiciary, Dr Pius Bigirimana, noted that the census and profiling of GBV cases in the pilot courts had been completed.
He stated that the training and briefing of Judicial Officers on handling SGBV cases using the equipment will soon be carried out. The PS/SJ said court clerks on the other hand will be trained in interpretation and sign language in March.
Mr Dan Bazira, the Interim Country Head - UN Women in Uganda stressed the need to build capacity of the institution in order to enhance access to justice. He further emphasized that GBV related cases should be prioritized and ensure effective usage of the equipment.
The Head of Office, Australian Development Cooperation in Uganda, Dr Kremser Roswitha, noted that the donation was meant to bring the Judiciary closer to digitization of court services since it was now almost impossible to work without ICT.
She emphasized that the ultimate goal was to end the suffering of SGBV victims in Uganda.
The handover was witnessed by among others, Dr Katja Kerschbaumer from ADC, Registrars; HW Mary Kisakye Kaitesi, HW Rosemary Bareebe, HW John Paul Edoku, and Commissioners; Dr Christopher Ebal and Mrs Apophia Tumwine.
Other senior Judiciary administrators present included Mr David Sunday Kikabi, the Principal Information Technology Officer and Mr Simon Peter Opolot, the Principal Economist.
The Judiciary Public Relations Officer, HW Jamson Karemani, moderated the function.
Posted 27th, January 2022
