By Nasser Kasozi Akandwanaho
President Yoweri Museveni has elevated five registrars and prosecutors and named them judges of the High Court.
“In exercise of powers vested in the president by Article 142(1) of the 1995 Constitution , I have, acting on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission appointed these persons judges of the High Court,” Museveni’s letter to the Speaker of Parliament , Jacob Oulanyah reads in part.
Consequently, Tom Chemutai(registrar), Lawrence Tweyanze(registrar), Vincent Wagona(prosecutor), Alice Komuhangi Khaukha (Deputy Director of Public Prosecution) and Florence Nakachwa have been appointed as High Court judges.
The development comes on the backdrop of the approval by cabinet of the Judiciary’s revised structure that would see the number of judges increased.
The revised structure to be implemented in the next five years will see the number of judges of the High Court increased to 228 from the current 81.
The Judiciary spokesperson, Jameson Karemani recently said the Judiciary had received shs500 billion for the implementation of the revised structure that he noted would see an improvement in service delivery.
The Judiciary has in the past insisted that the current case backlog is caused by the lack of enough judges to handle the matters.
Former Chief Justice, Bart Katureebe in 2017 said that by then , there were over 30,000 cases in courts of law that were not yet concluded as most cases take more than three years to get concluded, a situation he attributed to limited number of judges, especially for the High Court.
On Monday, Prisons said they are stuck with 6,912 inmates whose cases are not moving anywhere.
Frank Baine, the Uganda Prisons Service spokesperson said that 4440 suspected capital offenders who had completed their mandatory six month remand period have never been tried despite being committed for trial in the High Court.
He said that another 2472 inmates have never been committed to High Court for trial.
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