On Wednesday February 15, 2023, the Principal Judge, Hon. Justice Dr Flavian Zeija, presided over the official opening ceremony of the new Kira Chief Magistrates Court premises in Kira Municipality, Wakiso District.
He appreciated the Acting Chief Magistrate of Kira, HW Nsenge Roseline, for her efforts in searching for the premises. "These premises are in no doubt a very big upgrade from the premises this court has occupied over many years."
The Principal Judge thanked the Buganda Land Board for the conducive environment offered while the court was still housed at their premises. He equally thanked the Mayor, Kira Municipality, for the 'promised land' to construct a permanent home for the Court.
Hon. Justice Dr. Zeija informed the stakeholders who included Judicial Officers, District leadership, representatives of different justice institutions and members of the public that the Judiciary has embarked on a massive transformation agenda."...we have embarked on a massive transformation agenda for both the hardware and software of the Judiciary. I’m confident that the future of the Judiciary will only get better."
The Principal Judge said the plan is to make the new Judiciary "very robust in responding to all the justice needs and aspirations of the people, from whom we derive judicial power."
He highlighted regazzeting of magisterial areas, increasing the monetary jurisdiction of magistrates courts, decentralization of the inspectorate of courts, adequate Judiciary staff recruitment at all court levels as some of the interventions Judiciary is working on to improve access to justice.
Hon. Justice Dr. Zeija also called upon officers of court to desist from corruption and other vices that can easily taint the image of the Judiciary.
The Head of the Criminal Division, Hon. Justice Micheal Elubu appreciated the Judiciary for bringing the court nearer to people and operationalizing the Chief Magisterial area.
He urged court users to get interested in the way how court works and embrace the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms such as Mediation, Small Claims Procedure and Plea Bargaining.
The Chief Registrar, HW Sarah Langa Siu, lay emphasis on the need for Court Staff to attend to court users with courtesy. "Since the public is longing for better court services, there is need to improve on how we handle our clients," the Chief Registrar said.
The Kira Municipality Mayor, Mr Julius Mutebi Nsubuga, appreciated the Acting Chief Magistrate for the courteous services offered at the Court. He further promised to fast track the finalization of securing land for the Judiciary to construct court premises.
The 'court-warming' ceremony was crowned with presentation of gifts to the Principal Judge, the Permanent Secretary (in absentia) and the Chief Registrar for their tremendous support to ensure the Court gets new premises.
Posted 15th, February 2023
