Hon. Justice Buteera(Deputy Chief Justice) being received at the Soroti Main Prison
As part of the activities to mark the Soroti High Court Open Day, the Deputy Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Richard Buteera, on Thursday March 23, 2023 visited Soroti Main Prison where he interacted within mates.
The purpose of the visit was to sensitize inmates on the different court processes.
The DCJ was accompanied by the Soroti Resident Judge, Hon. Justice Dr Henry Peter Adonyo and other Judicial Officers under Soroti High Court.
The DCJ expressed gratitude to the Prison's authorities for organizing the meeting. He enlightened the inmates about Plea Bargaining and bail and the different court processes.
He also reassured them that the Judiciary is committed to timely adjudication of cases. "What we are doing now is increasing the numbers of Judicial Officers at different court levels so that your cases are heard on time," the DCJ said.
The OC Soroti Main Prision, Atwine Deodato, thanked the Judiciary for the plea bargaining sessions which he said has increased the convict ratio at the prison.
He led the DCJ on a guided tour of the prison premises including the dispensary ward, the video conferencing room, tailoring and carpentry workshops.
The inmates, in their memorandum, called for more trial sessions to avoid overstay on remand. They also decried high bail fees, congestion and missing files.
Out of the 1,049 inmates at the facility, 593 are convicts, 456 are on remand. Of the 456, 278 have been committed to the High Court for trial.
DCJ Visits Land for Construction of Court of Appeal
After the visit to the prisons, the DCJ proceeded to Katine where Soroti District Council officials led by the district council of Soroti, through the Deputy RDC, Prince Martin Kasozi Basalilwa, donated eight arces of land for the construction of Soroti Court of Appeal and Magistrate's Court.
Posted 23rd, March 2023
