Iganga to get High Court judge - Official

The chief registrar, Ms Sarah Langa Siu has revealed plans by the judiciary to have a functional High Court Judge in Iganga District to decongest Jinja High Court that currently serves all the 11 districts in Busoga Sub-region.
 
Ms Langa made the remarks on Wednesday during an open day court session in Mayuge district, which followed similar sittings at the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Iganga and Kamuli districts on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
 
“This financial year, priority is to have a functional High Court Judge in Iganga. Instead of crowding Jinja as has been the case, other people will go to Iganga and offload the cases by a half,” Ms Langa said.
 
She added: “. . . Our grand plan to see that every district has a Chief magistrate; even the Court of Appeal (CoA) which sits in Kampala is going regional and this financial year, we are building one (CoA) in Mbarara and Gulu.”
 
Currently, Iganga has a Chief Magistrate (Ms Zulaika Nanteza), who oversees Grade One Magistrates in Iganga, Mayuge, Namayingo, Bugiri, Namutumba, Kaliro and Bugweri.
 
At the court sessions, litigants were taught alternative means of resolving disputes, including the plea bargain and mediation among others.

Ms Langa heard from Mr Richard Gulume, the Mayuge resident district commissioner (RDC) that cases of buying jobs was on the increase in the area, and appealed to the judiciary to take stern action against offenders.
 
“Your Worship, can you imagine a porter buying a job at Shs3m, while those wishing to join as teachers Shs5m? How do you charge someone without a job Shs5m? That money will be refunded if we discover them and bring them to court,” Mr Gulume said.
 
He added: “Those selling jobs are killing the country; when someone buys a job and doesn’t merit it, it means they are killing the whole system.”
 
Ms Aisha Nabukera, the Mayuge Grade One Magistrate, said her court lacks a transcriber, yet records of proceedings are required at the High Court.
 
“Some (litigants) come for judgements but I have no transcriber; luckily, I type my own judgements, but records of proceedings? No!”
 
Ms Nabukera added that as the country joins the rest of the world to mark anti-corruption day, one of her staff absconded from his duty station for over a month after he was allegedly accused by litigants of soliciting for a bribe.
 
The staff, who she didn’t name, allegedly fled with a government motorcycle, prompting her to order for his arrest, but was surprised to learn that he was “merely transferred”.