Not even the cold morning showers would deter the Principal Judge, Hon. Justice DrFlavian Zeija, from continuing with his scheduled Court inspections.
By 9am, the PrincipalJudge was already in Makindye at the Family Division interacting with theJudicial Officers and staff at the Court.
Flanked by theAssistant Registrar Inspectorate/PRO, HW Jamson Karemani, the PJ was receivedby the Head of Division, HW Justice David Matovu, who took him on a tour of theCourt premises.
His first stopover wasthe registry where he perused the manual registers as well as the Court CaseAdministration System. It was noted that many cases are completed but the recordis not updated in the registers.
The PJ advisedregistry staff to ensure that registers are regularly updated to ensureaccuracy of data and also prepare for the Electronic Court Case ManagementInformation System. He advised them to utilize the court vacation to update therecords.
Hon. Justice Matovushared the Courts challenges with the team. These included inadequate furnitureand space for Judges’ chambers and court halls, slow internet since theDivision's server is at the lower court and squeezed archives. He also statedthe need for a wall fence and training of lawyers and Judges on the applicationand practice of the Civil Procedure Amendment Rule.
He also noted manypending cases are before the Deputy Registrar, which is overwhelming, andtherefore the Division needed an Assistant Registrar to perform effectively.
Hon. Justice Matovucalled for the operationalization of Luwero High Court since many cases stemfrom areas fall under that Circuit.
"We handle cases fromKampala, Wakiso, Luwero, Nakaseke and Nakasongola...if Luwero wasoperationalized, cases under that circuit would be transferred there.
The PJ in responsedecried the inadequate number of Judicial Officers but pledged to look into theneed of of an Assistant Registrar at the Division. He further promised towork on operationalization of the Luwero Circuit.
Hon. Lady JusticeKetrah Katunguka said it was important to increase on space between JudicialOfficers and litigants while in Court and chambers as security measure."We need enough space from litigants because we handle emotional cases; alitigant can box or slap you".
She also advised thatthe bigger chairs in court halls be replaced with smaller chairs or benchesthat can sit more people, an idea that the PJ welcomed.
The Court's DeputyRegistrar, HW Festo Nsenga, pointed out that since the year began, the Court hasconcluded 1,040 matters. Out of the pending 5,390 cases, 2,552 arebacklogged.
The Court has fourJudges, one Deputy Registrar, 3 mediators and 29 support staff.
Makindye ChiefMagistrates Court
At the Makindye CMCourt, the PJ was received by the HW Prossy Katushabe, who took him on a guidedtour of the premises.
Thereafter, the CMpresented a report to the PJ where she stated that in the first half of the year,the court has completed 1,193 cases. "...during covid-19 period, 625 cases wereregistered and 449 have been completed."
There are 1,983pending matters of which 261 are backlog cases.
She said the Court hadsecured two containers, which serves as holding cells, organizing the courtusers waiting area and purchasing of new benches.
On the courtstructure, the CM said the building needed overhauling. "Even when we tryto renovate, it gets cracked again and construction experts advised us to breakthe building down completely."
Other challengeshighlighted were; lack of vehicles for the six Judicial Officers especiallywhen visiting locus, old pit latrines, lack of a generator hence no power backup, limited furniture for Magistrate chambers, inadequate security at courtpremises, sitting space for prison wardens, infective plumbing works and theneed to construct a comfortable customer care desk.
On the issue oftransport, the PJ said engagements are ongoing with the Ministry of Finance,Planning and Economic Development to ensure that when vehicle purchases arebeing made for Judges, considerations be put in place for other JudicialOfficers.
He equally encouragedthe updating of manual registers. "When you are in- charge registry, mindso much about entering results in manual registers because it becomes easy forreference. Although there is CCAS, there are days when there is no power yetdecisions have been made", he said.
The court is supportedby 22 administrative staff and has no Systems Administrator.
Posted 9th, July 2020
