L-R: Hon. Justice Kazibwe (Resident Judge - Kabale), Hon. Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny - Dollo(Standing), Dr. Bigirimana (Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Judiciary)
On Tuesday July 19,2022, the Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny - Dollo, camped at Kisoro Chief Magistrate's Court to meet justice stakeholders including civic and political leaders to explore ways on how to strengthen the administration of justice in the district.
The meeting is part of the Chief Justice's week-long tour of Courts in South-Western Uganda.
The Chief Justice emphasized the need to improve access to justice especially in the rural areas. "I know the difficulties people face in rural settings...What bothers me is that these genuine people are suffering the most because we are not affording them Justice. That is why we are bringing services closer to you," he said.
He equally urged them to be ambassadors of innovations such as Plea Bargaining, Mediation, Small Claims Procedure as a means of reducing case backlog.
He took them through the Judiciary's plan of recruiting more Magistrates Grade One so that every constituency has a magistrate. The Chief Justice said when this is achieved, Judicial Officers who will have delayed matters for longer than five months will have to communicate in writing to the Chief Justice.
The Kabale Resident Judge, Hon. Justice Moses Kazibwe Kawumi said that the Chief Justice's visit to Kigezi Region was proof of his commitment to extend services to rural areas. He appealed to him to help influence the passing of Legal Aid Service Bill in order to help assist the people who cannot afford legal representation. He also called upon community leaders to sensitize their communities on the dangers of alcoholism. The Judge pointed out that the bulk of the cases in Kisoro Court are as a result of alcoholism and failure to control anger.
The Permanent Secretary/ Secretary to the Judiciary, Dr Pius Bigirimana, said the Judiciary is bent on ensuring there is expeditious handling of cases in the whole countryat all court levels.
The newly appointed acting Kisoro Chief Magistrate, HW Kenneth Komakech, said he was committed to render justice to the people. "The Transformational agenda in the Judiciary has gained momentum and I pledge to be available every single day to serve the people of Kisoro," he said.
HW Raphael Vueni thanked the Judiciary management for posting a Chief Magistrate and for the facelift at the Court. "We thank the Judiciary Top Management for posting a Chief Magistrate. We know that adjudication of cases will improve. We thank you for the face lift of this Court in hope that the services in the building will look like the building itself. Thanks for the fleet of vehicles we received, the containers for archives management, as well as furniture," he said.
The Kisoro District leaders expressed gratitude to the Judiciary leadership for the renovations at the Court. They also allocated land for the construction of a High Court.
Issues at Hand
Among the issues discussed were insufficient staffing levels at Kisoro, Kyanika and Bunagana courts, difficulty in physical access to justice because of the terrain, lack of legal aid service providers, quarterly payment of money for locus which disrupts planning and delays Justice. The other challenges were the need for better prison facilities, need to train more mediators in the district, need for accelerated promotion for HW Vueni, illegal immigrants, street kids, sensitization and urgent need for state attorneys.
Way Forward
It was agreed that there was need for proper budgeting of locus funds, follow up with approval process non-judicial officers structure to address staffing gaps. The Judicial Officers pledged to have an open-door policy as part of the efforts to check corruption, delayed justice, time management and communication.
Posted 19th, July 2022
