L-R: Hon. Justice Owiny-Dollo(Chief Justice) and Dr. Pius Bigirimana (Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Judiciary)
The Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny - Dollo, on Monday July 18, 2022 started his week-long visit to South Western Uganda on Monday at Rukungiri Chief Magistrate's Court where he met justice stakeholders and district leaders in a consultative meeting to interact and get feedback as a way of bridging the gaps in the administration of justice.
This is the Chief Justice's maiden visit to the region. Addressing the stakeholders, he shared his vision to transform the justice system. "I am pleased to be here today, on a meet the people tour following my mission and grand agenda to transform the Justice system. The rally I’ve called is one attended by millions of people to let them understand what we are doing for them...to ensure that they have access to justice. This is a drive for our people and you are representing them right here," he said.
The Chief Justice noted the need to have a visible and functional Judiciary that is guided by the principles of integrity, impartiality and zero tolerance to any vice that negates the requisite principles for rendering justice in the country. "Leaders have been asking for judicial services and courts of law. Therefore, we must be properly focused and the only constant that we have are the people. The Judiciary must be strengthened and justice must be felt with the court house being a walking distance for the litigants. Let the Judiciary be granted its proper place in planning for this country because it will make great contributions in it. More importantly, the Judiciary must be true to its duty to do justice to all manner of persons. we’ll build courts of law and staff them with Judicial Officers. What matters is if they are hardworking, committed and act according to their oath," he added.
The Kabale High Court Circuit Judge, Hon. Justice Moses Kazibwe Kawumi, thanked the Chief Justice for reaching out to communities. "We thank you for thinking about us. We all know where you want us to move and we are ready to move with you. This visit has excited a lot of people because it is clearly one that is unheard of in the history of the Judiciary," he said.
On the other hand, the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Judiciary, Dr Pius Bigirimana, noted that there was reasonable increase in finances allocated to the Judiciary. He expressed his commitment to support judicial services so that every citizen enjoys them.
Dr Bigirimana thanked the Chief Justice for his vision for the Judiciary. "We have a strong Chief Justice who has given us a sense of direction as an institution," he said.
The Rukungiri Chief Magistrate, HW Mbabazi Edith Mary applauded the stakeholders for their consistent efforts to supporting the Judiciary.
The LC5 of Rukungiri, Mr Geoffrey Kyomukama, thanked the Chief Justice for the initiative. He said itwas a platform to present their concerns on the administration of justice tothe Judiciary Top Management with a hope of forging a way forward.
The consultative meeting registered a number of issues such as cases taking long to be disposed, terrain challenges and need of a Chief Magistrate posted to Kanungu and a resident magistrate in Kihihi. The stakeholders called for sensitization on how best to utilize the LC1 courts, lack of reception centers for children, need for another remand home within the region, need to operationalize the Government Analytical Laboratory in Mbarara, limited number of state attorneys compared to Judicial Officers, among others.
The Chief Justice called on the stakeholders to utilize initiatives such as Electronic Court Case Management system, Small Claims Procedure, Plea bargaining and Mediation in a bid to promote timely disposal of cases and reduce case backlog.
As part of his tour, the Chief Justice was led on a guided tour of the court premises as well as the proposed site for the construction of a High Court building. He reassured the stakeholders that Rukungiri alongside places such as Moroto, Tororo, Luwero and Hoima were due to get resident Judges.
Posted 18th, July 2022
