Judiciary sets 4 months to clear Luweero case backlog

Judiciary Chief Registrar Sarah Langa (left), deputy Judiciary technical advisor  Sam Wairagala (2nd left) and Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera (centre)  at Luweero Chief Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. PHOTO/ DAN WANDERA

What you need to know:

Officials say lack of funds is the biggest challenge they are facing.

Judicial officials in greater Luweero have set a four-month timeline to clear the case backlog, which now stands at 553 cases.

Greater Luweero covers the districts of Luweero, Nakasongola and Nakaseke.

Luweero Chief Magistrate Samuel Munobe said the courts in the area currently face a number of problems including the long distances that litigants have to cover to attend court.

Mr Munobe made the remarks while meeting the Judiciary case backlog monitoring team led by the Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera in Luweero on Thursday.

He said the assurance for logistical support by the Judiciary will go a long way to help clear the backlog.

“The case backlog at the Luweero Chief Magistrate Court dating back to the year 2016 now stands at 491 cases with the civil and land case topping the list with 225 and 193 cases respectively, while the Criminal cases stand at 73. I pledge that the clearing the case backlog is achievable in a period of four months. The backlog for criminal cases can be handled before June 15,” Mr Munobe said.

Earlier, Nakasongola Chief Magistrate Sarah Mponye Kolya, had also set the timeline for the case backlog handling at four months. Nakasongola has a case backlog of 62 cases.

The Judiciary is confident that the case backlog clearance plan for Luweero and Nakasongola as presented by the Chief Magistrates is achievable.

“The Judicial officers should explore the many available ways of dispensing justice, including mediation, plea bargain and reconciliation. These alternative justice means offer the most acceptable means of resolving disputes by society. Cases resolved by way of reconciling create peace and enable communities live in harmony,” Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera advised.

Ms Sarah Langa Siu, the Judiciary chief registrar, warned that while case backlog greatly impacts the general output and performance and must be handled, Judicial officers should strictly adhere to the law, embrace the culture of continuous assessment and steer clear of corruption tendencies.

She said the Judiciary is ready to make on-the-spot interventions for some of the challenges reported as obstacles to the quick administration of justice.

She called on the judicial officials to regularly forward their concerns to her for quick redress.