The Principal Judge, Hon.Justice Dr. Zeija speaking during his visit at Land Division
The Principal Judge, Dr Flavian Zeija, on Tuesday (July 21, 2020), spent the morning at the Land Division of the High Court in Kampala for an interaction with the Judicial Officers at the Court as well as inspect the facilities there.
The PJ,who was received by the head of the Division, Hon. Justice John Eudes Keitirima, said the purpose of the visit was to mainly understand the issues at the Division and see how to address them. Adding that although he may not have immediate solutions, it will help him understand the challenges.
Hon. Justice Keitirima presented memoranda on behalf of the Division. In terms of human resource, he said they were seven Judges, 1 Deputy Registrar, 1 Assistant Registrar and 65 administrative staff.
Hon. Justice Keitirima said the Court has a workload of 9,198 cases with 7,563 cases classified as backlog.
"We have prioritized cases of 2015 and below and our strategy is to complete them by close of this year. The total number of cases in that category are 1,938."
The other strategies he pointed out included use of witness statements and written submissions, interlocutory matters being handled by Registrars and Mediation although it is success rate is minimal.
Among the challenges noted was the infrastructure. "The working environment is not that conducive for our work. We only have one court hall and yet our cases attract many people," Hon. Justice Keitirima said. Adding, "The administration should get us a building that would at least accommodate four court halls and ample places of convenience."
They appealed for at least 10 Judges and 3 Registrars as well as ample financial resources to enable the Division conduct locus visits and pay expert witnesses.
It was noted that the Division does not have a library and some Judges lack volumes of Laws of Uganda. The head of Division called for the need for training especially in new technology as well as equipment.
Among the recommendations made was the need to re-brand the Court as The Land and Environmental Division as is the case in Kenya and Tanzania.
Hon. Justice Keitirima appealed for formalization of employment of the Division staff such as Research Assistants and transcribers, as well as improve terms or conditions of service for all support staff. He urged the administration to support the Mediation function as currently the mediators do so on voluntary basis.
Responses
Case disposal: The PJ said there is more support from World Bank, which will enable the Division clear more cases in a short time. He said that there is increased public scrutiny in disposal rates of Judicial Officers.
Accommodation: As a long-term solution to this, the PJ said that with the new Administration of Judiciary Act, after the completion of the Appellate Courts, funds might be available for putting up a building at Nakawa to house all the High Court Divisions.
He promised to follow up with the Permanent Secretary to ensure the Division gets suitable accommodation. "An Infrastructure Committee is in the offing to ensure that courts get suitable accommodation," he said.
Funding: the PJ said they are working on ensuring that courts are allocated funds based on their workload.
Equipment: The PJ said that particular component has Shs3bn tagged to it under the implementation of the Electronic Court Case Management Information System and believed that by November, the necessary machinery would be in place.
Inspections
After the meeting, the PJ visited the chambers of Judges; Hon. Justice Keitirima, Hon.Justice Henry Kaweesa, Hon. Lady Justice Cornelia Sabiiti, Hon. Lady Justice Olive Kazaarwe, Hon. Lady Justice Immaculate Busingye and Hon. Lady Justice Alexandra Rugadya. He equally visited the chambers of the Deputy Registrar, HW Flavia Nabakooza and Assistant Registrar, HW Justine Atukwasa.
He inspected the Registry where he advised the staff to ensure that results of completed files are entered in the manual register.
In the archives room, the PJ commended the efforts of the in-charge and shared best practices of cataloguing to enable proper record retrieval.
Hon.Lady Justice Justice Jeane Rwakakoko who is conducting a session at the Division was equally present.
Assistant Inspector of Courts and Public Relations Officer, HW Jamson Karemani accompanied the PJ.
Posted 21st, July 2020
