Hon. Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny - Dollo with stakeholders during his South- Western tour
The Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny - Dollo on Wednesday July 20, 2022 continued with his stakeholder engagements in South-Western Uganda where he held a consultative meeting with leaders from Kigezi.
The meeting which took place at Kabale High Court drew a cross-section of participants who included civic and political leaders discussing matters that affect the administration of justice in the area.
He highlighted the purpose of the tour as one to acquaint him with the circumstances that people face. "I have come to do field work starting with Ankole and Kigezi region. I thank you, leaders for the positive response I have received. Sitting in Kampala to accord Justice when I do not know/ understand what’s happening in the field is lying to myself. Even though I may have good intentions, I will fail due to ignorance of what's affecting the people. With time I’ll go everywhere in this country to understand everyone’s needs and stop acting under assumptions." he said.
The Chief Justice said part of his transformation agenda for the Judiciary is to afford justice to the ordinary Ugandans. He said he hopes to achieve a situation where in six months one is out of court.
Kabale High Court showcased the biggest land allocation to enable construction of court premises. The Judiciary plans to have a Chief magistrate in every district and are set on building regional Courts of Appeals starting with Mbarara and Gulu followed by Jinja, Mbale and Fort Portal.
The Chief Justice called on the leaders to be interested in court matters. "We are sending you young people, I expect you as leaders to approach the magistrates and give them the opportunity to serve you better by revealing where they go astray. That’s a role I want you to play. I want to write when I retire that I have left a Judiciary that has both it's hardware and software. Do not stand aloof, this court also belongs to you, I do not want the people of Uganda to celebrate physical access to justice but the software comprised in these courts," he noted.
The Kabale Resident Judge, Hon. Justice Moses Kazibwe Kawumi, urged the local government to provide a tarmac road to the court premises to ease transport and Judicial services for the people of Kabale.
The Permanent Secretary/ Secretary to the Judiciary, Dr. Pius Bigirimana expressed his commitment in supporting the Judicial Officers in budgeting, planning, court construction and transportation provisions to ensure they do their work smoothly.
The local leaders appreciated Judiciary for bringing the services closer to the people since they no longer have to move to Mbarara High court circuit for a Judge.
There were complaints on court bailiffs being troublesome, hardships in transporting suspects and witnesses to hear the cases and absence of a generator given the power instabilities in Kabale. The other concerns were the need for more vehicles for Kabale Judicial Officers, lack of a resident magistrate in Rukiga, limited number of state attorneys among others.
Responses
The PS/SJ promised to provide additional vehicles, and provision of video conferencing equipment to ease hearing of cases.
The Chief Justice reiterated the need to embrace Alternative Dispute Resolution as a way to help reduce case backlog and collaboration with local leaders.
Posted 20th, July 2022
