(L-R) HW Mugabo, HW Waninda (standing), Hon. Lady Justice Susan Okalany and HW Zirintuusa at the court open day at Bubulo
The Judiciary on September 21, 2017 held a Court Open Day at Bubulo Magistrates Court in Manafwa district for its court users.
In a function that was presided over by the Mbale Resident Judge; Hon. Lady Justice Susan Okalany, attracted the Manafwa District leadership, representatives of the Police and Prisons, Justice Centres, Justice for Children, Probation Officers and members of the public who turned-up in large numbers to witness history being made.
The enthusiastic court users who thronged the event carried away printed information materials about the Court services that were supplied by the Judiciary, Justice Centers, Justice for Children and the Justice, Law and Order(JLOS) Secretariat.
A team of Judicial Officers comprising of Deputy Registrar Mediation/PRO, HW Vincent Emmy Mugabo; Ag. Registrar Planning & Development, HW Fred Waninda and Mbale Chief Magistrate, HW Michael Kintu Zirintuusa engaged the public for about two hours in a Question & Answer session.
The new Access to Justice Initiatives of Mediation, Plea Bargain and Small Claims Procedure were presented to the public in a Drama Skit conducted by a team of Communications Officers, the Judiciary PRO and the Bubulo Court Clerk, Mr Emma Kiyingi.
In her speech, Hon. Lady Justice Okalany urged courts users to embrace the new access to justice initiatives. "Justice is quite expensive. Embrace the new access to justice initiatives to reduce on the cost of litigation,"she said, adding that the Mbale High Court Circuit needs about 10 resident judges to clear its current workload.
HW Elizabeth Kabugho, the Magistrate Grade I, said that out of the 556 cases pending before the Court, only 38 are categorized as backlog.
She said the Court had already embraced the initiatives in place and appealed for more support. "The Court had embraced Mediation and Plea Bargaining and is waiting for the gazetting of the Court as a Small Claims Procedure court."
Manafwa District RDC Mr Kyeyune Ssenyonjo thanked the Judiciary for the reforms in place that have made the courts friendlier. He said, "we need a revolution in the courts that will see that justice is dispensed." He commended the Bubulo Magistrate for being professional and urged JLOS members to cooperate to ensure timely dispensation of justice.
Mr Musa Mudoi, a technical advisor at the JLOS Secretariat appealed to the Magistrate to endeavor to sensitize court users on court processes for at least 10 minutes before court begins.
During the plenary, court users asked the courts to fight the vice of bush lawyers.Some users wanted clarity on what offences are bail-able and the terms of bail.
The Bubulo Court Open Day was the climax of a series of public sensitization activities that had Community Outreach Campaigns, Media Campaigns on community radios in the districts of Alebtong, Kumi and Manafwa.
The United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) has, since the beginning of 2017, been sponsoring these public engagements.
Posted 21st, September 2017
