Court report shows high crime

Cases that were criminal in nature, were the most registered or reported in the past year, the latest state of the Judiciary report, has showed.

While releasing the report dubbed “The Judiciary Annual Performance Report 2022/23” in Kampala last Friday, Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo attributed the rise in criminality in the country to the high rate of unemployment among the youth, forcing them to engage in a manner of things to survive.

“Criminal cases were the most registered cases and also the most completed. The rise of criminal cases can be attributed to population growth and urbanisation, which set challenges for unemployment and survival instincts, giving rise to a higher crime rate,” he said

According to the report, 148,755 criminal cases were registered in FY2022/2023 with 139,768 cases being completed, leaving 66,476 cases unresolved.

“Overall, courts closed with a pending caseload of 156,349 cases, of which 42,960 were backlog. This accounted for 27.48 percent of cases as backlog from 32% in FY 2020/2021, which translates into 4.52 percent reduction in backlog,” the report read in part.

The Chief Justice said the leaders in the Judiciary are doing things differently by introducing the hearing of criminal cases daily instead of holding sessions.

“The Judiciary came up with the idea of changing from a criminal session system to daily hearings, and the Criminal Division being central to the criminal justice at High Court level, was selected to develop and pilot the concept in October 2021. Over time, the pilot project has registered quicker disposal of cases at the Criminal Division,” the Chief Justice said.

He added: “The reduction in the average lead times was by 250 days, from the 863 days recorded in the seven months before the start of the pilot project, to 613 days recorded in the last seven months of FY 2022/2023 under the pilot project.”

Last week, the Commissioner General of Prisons, Dr Johnson Byabashaija, while at a function in Kampala, expressed worry about the increased number of female inmates across prisons.

He explained that in the past 10 years, there has been an increase of 125 percent of female inmates from 1591 in 2013 to 3585 in 2023.

Of the 3585 female inmates, 39 percent are facing murder charges.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo attributed the increase in female inmates to poverty, increased domestic violence, and sexual gender-based violence.

Further, the report showed that the age of uncompleted cases in the courts has declined over the last three financial years, with only 14.25 percent of uncompleted cases, which have been pending for about five years as of the end of June 2023, compared to 16.73 percent as of the end of June 2022.

The cases that were more than 10 years in the courts as of June 2023, were 3.61 percent compared to 5.15 percent in 2022 and 3.90 percent in 2021.

On a good note, the report indicated that the judicial-population ratio has increased, a scenario that will see enhanced access to justice.

The report showed that the judicial: population ratio improved to 1: 70,203 in 2023 from 1: 81,724 in 2022 and 1: 114,362 in 2020.”

In the next financial year, the Chief Justice  listed key areas to focus such as revising the Magistrate Areas Instrument of 2017 to establish a magistrate’s court at every county or constituency, promotion of the alternative dispute resolution, construction of more court buildings including the competition of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, which are near completion.

Reactions

“When I go to the Judiciary, what do I expect, I’m looking for access, can I be able to reach the court in a short distance, and are the courts closer to me to be able to file my pleadings?’’ Uganda Law Society (ULS) president Bernard Oundo said.

He added: “There is still an issue of backlog, we must also realise that while we deal with backlog, more cases are being filed. When I get a decision, is it fair, are there contradicting decisions? These are the issues that members of the ULS have been emphasising.”

The Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister, Mr Norbert Mao, at the launch of the report, said: “We live in a country where most people focus on fanfare, no impact, the Judiciary now gives a lesson about the difference between fanfare and effectiveness because there are results for us to see.”

“We celebrate you and the Judiciary because you are doers. Don’t mind about the reactionaries and commentators who will always be with us,” he added.

Key highlights in report

•Criminal cases were the most registered cases, and also the most completed

•Increased rate of disposal of cases as the institution experienced a steady growth in the number of completed cases up to 266,323 cases in FY2022/2023 from 205,967 cases in FY2021/2022 and 156,875 cases in FY 2020/21

This was attributed to an improvement in the speed of disposal of cases i.e. a disposal rate of 63.01 percent in FY2022/2023 was achieved as compared to 55 percent in FY2021/22 and 49 percent in FY2020/2021.The courts completed cases faster, by three weeks in FY2022/2023 as opposed to previous years.

• Grade One magistrates recorded the highest disposal of 134,583 cases followed by chief magistrates with 35,108 cases. This can be attributed to the Magistrates Grade One Courts having the highest staffing level (292) as compared to Chief Magistrates (77) and Magistrates Grade II (22) as of June 30.

•Overall, courts closed with a pending case load of 156,349 cases, of which 42,960 were backlog. This accounted for 27.48 percent of cases as backlog from 32 percent in FY2020/2021 which translates into 4.52 percent reduction in backlog.

•A total of 2,857 cases were completed through plea bargaining at the High Court level, while 1,160 cases were completed through hearing cases daily and 1,697 cases through plea bargaining camps.

•A total of 2,389 other cases were completed through plea bargaining camps in the various magisterial areas. This reflects an 88.12 percent clearance rate with an average lead time of less than one day.

•A total number of 22,092 cases were completed through the Small Claims Procedure, recovering claims of a total value of Shs6.4b as compared to Shs11.1b realised in FY2020/2021

•A total of 1,250 cases were mediated to conclusion of the 2,210 cases enrolled under the mediation scheme.

•The Judiciary came up with the idea of changing from a criminal session system to daily hearings, and the Criminal Division being central to the criminal justice at High Court level, was selected to develop and pilot the concept in October 2021.

•Gender based violence criminal sessions were organised at Tororo, Kamuli, Kamwenge, Nebbi and Bushenyi as well as the chief magistrates’ courts of Pader and Kayunga. These courts disposed of 319 of the 359 cases listed, thereby recording a clearance rate of 88.86 percent.

•Juvenile Criminal Sessions at Naguru Remand Home completed an average of 20 cases per sitting.

•Significant efforts were made to improve access to justice services and combat case backlog in Uganda by operationalising six High Court Circuits, which had been non-operational since their establishment in 2016. New  courts at Luweero, Iganga, Tororo, Rukungiri, Moroto and Hoima were officially launched bringing the total number of High Court Circuits to 20.

•A fleet of 345 vehicles and 138 motorcycles was maintained. Furthermore, a total of 47 vehicles were procured for five Justices of the Supreme Court; one Justice of the Court of Appeal; 31 High Court Judges; 10 deputy/assistant registrars; and four vehicles were earmarked for locus quo visits and field supervision. In addition, 52 motorcycles were procured to facilitate process service at courts.

-The Judiciary is in the process of acquiring a marine boat to operate in the islands of Kalangala and Buvuma districts. At the close of the financial year, a 30 percent partial payment had been made to commence construction of the marine boat, the delivery of which is expected in FY2023/2024.

-The Electronic Court Case Management Information System (ECCMIS), was successfully rolled out to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court Divisions of; Anti-Corruption, Land, Civil and Commercial, Luwero High Court Circuit and Mengo Chief Magistrates Court.

-Two sets of video conferencing systems were installed, which significantly improved the ability to conduct online hearings of cases, especially in areas affected by insecurity. They were installed at the Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court as well as the High Court Criminal Division. Video conferencing technology allows for remote participation in court proceedings, enabling witnesses, legal representatives, and even Judges to join hearings virtually from different locations.

The judicial-population ratio improved to 1: 70,203 in 2023 from 1: 81,724 in 2022 and 1: 114,362 in 2020.

-There was an increase in caseload from 229,375 recorded in FY2021/2022 to 294,020, indicating an increase of 64,645 cases.

- Staffing inadequacies in some of the agencies like the office of the DPP, the Uganda Police Force, the Judicial Service Commission, and the office of the Attorney General, a scenario that frustrates justice service delivery and makes it difficult to eliminate case backlog in courts.

- Inadequate remand homes across the country, which has led to delays in disposal of juvenile cases and inevitable breach of the well-intended provisions of the Children Act and other laws.