Africa-Press – Uganda. Arua High Court Circuit, which comprises six magisterial areas in West Nile, is overwhelmed with backlog of cases.
Judicial officials in West Nile blame the backlog on shortage of staff, failure by litigants to hire lawyers due to poverty, failure by litigants to respond to summons, lack of language interpreters and Covid-19 lockdown, among others.
According to reports presented to the Judiciary Committee on Case Backlog by magistrates in the six magisterial areas at Arua High Court on Monday, there are 391 pending cases in Yumbe Chief Magistrate’s Court and 94 cases before Nebbi magisterial area which covers Nebbi, Pakwach and Zombo districts.
Arua magisterial area, which includes Arua, Maracha and Koboko, has 70 cases pending disposal.
Moyo Magisterial Area, which includes Moyo and Obongi, has 33 cases.
The cases mainly comprising civil, criminal, land and miscellaneous cases, some of which accumulated during the Covid-19 lockdown period that started in March 2020.
Speaking at the judicial meeting on Monday, Yumbe District Chief Magistrate Hillary Kiwanuka, said due to high poverty levels, some litigants have failed to get lawyers or are unable to facilitate their transport to and from courts, which has made it difficult to dispense justice in time.
“If adequate funding is availed, we shall be able to conduct special court sessions so that some of the cases are disposed of,” he said.
Moyo District Grade One Magistrate Swaleh Asiku said litigants in Obongi District, where this court has jurisdiction, find it difficult to access justice due to the long distance they have travel to Moyo.
The Vice Chairperson of the Case Backlog Reduction Committee, Justice Fredrick Ntende, said adequate funding is key in eliminating case backlogs.
“We need you (magistrates) to submit the plans so that we can solicit for support and possible additional funding.”
He added: “Sometimes it is the attitude of judicial officers towards work that cause these backlog cases. You should ensure that judicial standards are followed and things are done in a reasonable way,” he said.
The following districts are located in the region: Nebbi, Zombo, Pakwach, Yumbe, Koboko, Moyo, Obongi, Adjumani, Arua, Terego, Madi Okollo, and Maracha.
The region also only has five chief magistrates and one resident judge.
