President Museveni has asked judicial officers to treat Ugandans who use courts with respect and dignity. He says judges must also be courteous enough to the wanainchi by hearing, concluding and delivering quick and timely decisions on their disputes brought before them instead of sitting on them.
The head of state also advised judges to consider the norms, values and traditions of the nation when making their decisions instead of sticking to facts and evidence to the law.
“When disputes are brought to the Courts for adjudication, in addition to applying the facts and the evidence to the law, you should also consider the norms, values, traditions and aspirations of the people” the President through the Vice President Maj. Jessica Alupo who represented him at the opening of a Four-Day 25th Annual Judges conference, guided.
He added that ‘Your Lordship, in addition to these norms and aspirations, the people of
Uganda want quick and timely resolution of disputes. They require to be treated with respect and courtesy’
The head of state continued to advance the rights of the people, telling judges that Ugandans are also tired of judges who sleep on their jobs.
“People require present judicial officers, they also require simplified processes. These are some of the reflections for meaningful justice to our people” he told them.
So touched he was in his submission that; the President reminded the men and women of (white) wigs that justice will be meaningful to the wanainchi and resultantly people-centered if in every case that they handle adhere to the constitution and make timely rulings to facilitate adequate compensation to victims of wrongs and also facilitate reconciliation between parties.
Other aspects they must consider is delivering justice without regard to technicalities, adhering to the judicial code of conduct, integrity, competence and diligence not forgetting the oath they took on assumption of duty to administer justice without fear or favor.
“I was happy that those who promulgated the Constitution included a provision that Judicial power is derived from the people and that the Courts should exercise this power in the name of the people. The provision also states that the Courts should put into account the values and aspirations of the people in performing judicial duties”
He said he was happy to open this conference under the theme “People Centered Approach To Justice”, saying such a theme is a reminder to judicial officers that they are called to respectfully serve the people of Uganda.
NOBLE CONFERENCE
The president through Alupo who’s also Katakwi’s best woman, commended the wigged officers for continuously convening these
conferences, saying this is in line with known methods of work as NRM.
He said Ugandans appreciated the NRM ideology right from the time the NRA was formed, all through the bush times to date.
“It is important to involve the people at the planning stage, at the execution stage and at appraisal stage. We need to hear the feedback on our services, which helps us to improve and perform even better” Gen. Museveni said, noting that people-participation in the affairs of governance is paramount in any progressive society.
“I am therefore very happy with this theme and I know that the feedback that you will receive here over the next 4 days will facilitate improvement in the administration of justice. I encourage you all to take the feedback positively and close up the gaps in the administration of justice” he told them.
THINK ABOUT MATO PUT SYSTEM
The General from Rwakitura, was also alive to the fact that prior to the current justice system, African societies had their traditional way of administering justice.
He however, noted that these systems were suppressed through the introduction of new judicial systems that came with colonialists and yet they were effective and encouraged brotherhood and sisterhood.
“It allowed the maintenance and sustenance of friendship and good neighborliness. Methods of solving disputes such as mediation and reconciliation were well
appreciated by our ancestors. It is time for us to reconsider our Justice system and evaluate its relevance to these people” he counseled.
He said the NRM Government acknowledges that, for there to be a strong democracy, there is need for a strong Judiciary, that settles conflict amongst the people and curtails oversight in the workings of the organs of Government.
Museveni said as government, it shall continue to support and build a strong Judiciary through all means possible including respect of Court orders.
JOB WELL DONE
He commended the judiciary for the progressive achievements it has registered over the recent years.
Some of these included the increasing use of ICT in adjudication, the decreasing case backlog, the presence of courts in more parts of Uganda, the increased staffing levels and the completion of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal buildings, among others.
He said Government is committed to continue supporting the Judiciary and to ensure that it executes it’s mandate in accordance with the Constitution.
“We are aware that more Judges, Registrars and Magistrates are still needed to clear the big workload pending in the Courts. We are also aware that the increase of Judicial officers calls for more staff that work with the Judicial officers such as Clerks, interpreters, process servers etc. The Government shall continue to support the Judiciary as we serve the people of Uganda in their quest for Justice” he said but however, asked them to be patient as there are other equally demanding sectors like agriculture, security, transport infrastructure, mineral exploration/exploitation all of which deserve attention.
