Hon. Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny - Dollo (Chief Justice) being received by members of the bar at the New Law Year 2023
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has commended the Judiciary under the leadership of the Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny - Dollo, for great milestones registered in improving the court experience.
"...I would like to commend you for fighting case backlog, operationalizing new High Court circuits, advancing the use of ICT, enhancing human resource capacity, improving court processes, revising court rules and strengthening case management reforms such as Mediation, Plea Bargaining, Small Claims Procedure and putting in place a Case Backlog Reduction Strategy, among others."
This was contained in the President's speech which was delivered by the Prime Minister, Hon. Robinah Nabanja at the opening of the New Law Year event at the Judiciary headquarters in Kampala on February 3, 2023.
The President noted that people go courts of law seeking "fair and timely judgments that embed obuntu- our traditional and historical values."
He committed to continue supporting the Judiciary towards realization of "what Chief Justice Hon. Owiny - Dollo has termed as the Judiciary Transformation Agenda."
The President urged the Chief Justice to put in place strong measures for accountability and fighting corruption if the transformational agenda is to be realized. "Uganda has already established Zero-Tolerance to Corruption Policy as a national value and we are counting on you to help us deal with these thieves who are enemies of development and want Uganda to remain behind." Adding that there should be no excuse for corruption in the Judiciary.
"We increased the Judiciary budget from Shs199 billion in the Financial Year 2019/2020 to Shs381.9 billion in the Financial Year 2022/2023. As a result, your salaries were enhanced so that you are able to do your work with one heart and in order to resist temptations of corruption," Mr Museveni said.
Address by the Chief Justice
The Chief Justice, Hon. Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny - Dollo, in his address noted that since the Judiciary unveiled the Judiciary Transformation Agenda and developed the Judiciary Strategic Plan V to facilitate the realization of the said agenda, for the year 2022, a number of accomplishments were registered in line with the Judiciary�s core mission of enhancing access to Justice for the people of Uganda.
These included; the publication of the second Annual Performance Report, improved Court performance - with Courts of Judicature disposing 250,021 cases in 2022. This means that a total of 91,598 more cases were disposed of in the year 2022 than in 2021. The Courts recorded an overall decrease in case backlog from 48,836 to 43,921 backlog cases as at 31stDecember 2022.
The other accomplishments being; promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution Interventions, fighting case backlog, enhancement of the use of ICT in justice delivery, construction of courts, reform laws and procedural rules, the development of the Judiciary Anti-corruption strategy, operationalization of more High Court Circuits and Magisterial areas.
He went on to list a number of challenges that affected court business. These included; the closure of Supreme Court premises, inadequate manpower, limited budgetary provision, and increasing caseload.
Among the priorities for the year 2023, the CJ listed lobbying for more funds to recruit and establish more courthouses and justice centres, Amend the Magistrates Courts Act to enhance the civil jurisdiction of the Magistrates Courts; Revise the Magisterial Areas Instrument of 2017 to establish Chief Magistrates Courts at every district in Uganda and Magistrate Grade One Courts at every county/constituency in Uganda as well as reviewing the High Court Circuits Instrument 2016 to increase the number of High Court Circuits across the regions. Launch the Constitution(Regional Courts of Appeal) (Practice) Directions, 2023 to provide for the creation of Regional Courts of Appeal in the various regions of Uganda, and to enhance the remuneration of non-judicial staff to keep them motivated in order to meaningfully deliver on our grand plan.
Also part of the Chief Justice's agenda is to strengthen the Judicial Training Institute to offer up-to-date capacity building and refresher training to the judicial and non-judicial staff, reinforce and decentralize the Inspectorate of Courts to effectively supervise court operations, promote judicial accountability and fight corruption; Launch and implement the Communications Strategy and the Registry Manual and revamp the Call Centre to promote transparency and guide the Court Users by creating awareness of Court processes and procedures and giving timely responses to people�s inquiries and complaints.
The Chief Justice wants to customize Court premises with facilities for vulnerable persons, and procure vehicles for new Judicial Officers and the Inspectorate of Courts, replace old motor vehicles of judges and Justices, among others.
The head of the Judiciary and warned the State and defense lawyers not to employ any delaying tactics when the trial of two Opposition MPs; Hon. Allan Ssewanyana(Makindye West) and Hon. Muhammad Ssegirinya (Kawempe North) starts this quarter. "I want to announce that in this quarter, the trial of the Members of Parliament will begin. Let me again be clear, let me say this to the State, you are the one who brought these accused persons to court, you made allegations against them and the law says they are innocent until proven guilty. When the trial begins and it will be soon, there will be no dilly-dallying, there will be no games," Chief Justice Hon. Owiny - Dollo said.
What Others Said
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Nobert Mao applauded the legal fraternity on dispute resolution by promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms through mediation, plea bargaining, small claims procedure among others. He said, this will bring transformation in communities.
The Attorney General, Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka said he has taken a decision not to represent any government officials charged with torture. "I have refused, and I have written. If a person is brought to me in a civil matter, for which there is clear evidence of torture, I have asked that individual to represent themselves," Hon. Kiwanuka stated.
"So if you illegally arrest, and a civil matter is brought against you, we will not represent you. So you better go back and tell your officers. We are not making a judgment but we are saying our view, you are wrong," added Hon. Kiwanuka.
He asks the public to report any case of illegal detention to the Attorney General. "President Uganda Law Society I don�t want to sit at the next event. Where you tell me of illegal arrest when you have not come to me as the head of the Bar. This is not a matter to speak of lightly"
He called upon the members of the bar to evaluate themselves as far as assisting the bench in delivering justice effectively, efficiently, fairly and timely is convened, in addition, to upholding of the professional ethics and conduct at all times.
The Uganda Law Society President, Mr. Bernard Oundo called for increased efficiency in the Judiciary following the increased funding to the institution.
He noted that "one of the biggest achievements of the past year is the implementation of the administration of the Judiciary act which has seen the increased recruitment of Judicial officers".
He also spoke against the trial of civilians in military courts. "Military courts should be used to try members of the UPDF and civilians tried in civilian courts," he said.
Adding, "it is my humble appeal that the arrests should be conducted within the confines of the law and the perpetrators of illegal arrests be held accountable," he said.
Posted 21st, February 2023