Hon. Justice Gadenya opening the Special session on sexual gender based violence in Tororo
TORORO: A special session on Sexual Gender Based Violence by High Court kicked off in Tororo district.
The session,which is going to handle 52 matters, will be presided over by Hon. Justice Gadenya Paul Wolimbwa.
Prior to addressing stakeholders, Judge inspected a guard of honor mounted by the Uganda Police Force.
During the meeting with stakeholders, he explained that the session would run for a month.
Adding that the special session would handle the backlog related to Sexual and Gender Based Violence cases in the district.
Hon.Justice Gadenya said most of the cases were defilement cases that had stayed for long in the system which had frustrated victims.
According to the causelist, of the 52 matters to be handled; 36 are aggravated defilement, 12 Rape, three murder and one aggravated robbery case.
He also expressed concern over the rising number of cases related to sexual gender based violence, attributing it to moral decadence in society.
"It is sad to note that more than 75% of cases being handled by court are as a result of sexual and gender based violence" adding that this is also prompting the Judiciary to establish special courts for sexual gender based violence across the country.
He said establishing these courts will help in creating a fast mechanism of resolving such cases without unnecessarily delaying in the court system.
In response to a query on why court cases delay, Justice Gadenya explained that this is often because of the meager resources availed to the courts.
He appealed to the civic leaders to continually educate communities to restore moral uprightness.
He added that most of the cases especially for aggravated defilement and rape have direct involvement of relatives.
The Tororo Resident District Commissioner, Mr. Nickson Owole, commended the judicial officers in the district for the commitment they have exhibited in rendering justice to communities.
The session was made possible with support from United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA) and the Justice Law and Order Sector.
Posted 16th, October 2019
