• Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Login
Watchdog Uganda
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Media Outreach Newswire
    • Africa News
    • Tourism
    • Community News
    • Luganda
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Motorsport
  • Op-Ed
    • #Out2Lunch
    • Conversations with
    • Politics
    • Relationships
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • CEOs & Entrepreneurs,
    • Companies
    • Finance
    • Products
    • RealEstate
    • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
  • People
    • Showbiz
      • Salon Mag
  • Special Report
    • Education
    • Voices
  • Reviews
    • Products
    • Events
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • WD-TV
  • Donate
  • China News
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Media Outreach Newswire
    • Africa News
    • Tourism
    • Community News
    • Luganda
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Motorsport
  • Op-Ed
    • #Out2Lunch
    • Conversations with
    • Politics
    • Relationships
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • CEOs & Entrepreneurs,
    • Companies
    • Finance
    • Products
    • RealEstate
    • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
  • People
    • Showbiz
      • Salon Mag
  • Special Report
    • Education
    • Voices
  • Reviews
    • Products
    • Events
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • WD-TV
  • Donate
  • China News
No Result
View All Result
Watchdog Uganda
No Result
View All Result

CJ Owiny-Dollo attributes Judiciary’s good performance in 2022 to increased number of Judicial officers

Stephen Kalema by Stephen Kalema
2 years ago
in Court, News
0 0
CJ Owiny- Dollo

CJ Owiny- Dollo

ShareTweetSendShare

The Chief Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny – Dollo has revealed that the good performance of Courts in disposing of cases last year was due to an increased number of judicial officers.

Speaking during the opening of the 24th Annual Judges’ Conference on Monday at Mestil Hotel Kampala, Justice Dollo noted that the substantial rise in case disposal in 2022 was mainly attributed to the increase in the number of Judicial Officers at the Magistracy and High Court levels.

He added that also the intensity in the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as plea bargaining, mediation and Small Claims Procedure, and daily hearings at the Criminal Division among others played a greater role in 2022 performance.

According to Justice Dollo, the improved coverage of the Judiciary at the Magistracy level reduced the case backlog to 11,333 cases in the year 2022 compared to 14,741 in the year 2021, giving a difference of 3,408 cases.

“Looking at the performance of Courts over the past years, the number of cases completed each year has been growing, from 126,265 cases disposed of in 2020 to 158,423 cases disposed of in 2021 and 250,021 cases disposed of in 2022. A total of 91,598 cases were disposed of in the year 2022 more than in 2021,” he said.

Justice Dollo revealed that the High Court completed 10,656 more cases than it completed in 2021, the Chief Magistrates Courts completed 50,818 more cases than they completed in 2021 and the Magistrate Grade One Courts completed 30,107 more cases than in 2021. Overall, the performance for 2022 surpassed that of 2021 by 91,598 cases thereby reducing case backlog by 4,915 cases, i.e. a reduction in backlog from 43,921 cases in 2021 to 44,339 cases in 2022.

“With the added numbers, during the last calendar year 2022, All the Magistrates Grade 1s deployed at the independent Court stations and those under Chief Magistrate headed Stations performed exceptionally well.”

He added that Magistrates Grade I completed the highest number of Cases (140,438 cases) followed by Chief Magistrates (29,296 cases). The Magistrates Grade II completed the lowest number of cases (7,435).

“The performance is strongly correlated with the staffing levels at the respective Individual Ranks, with Magistrates Grade I having the highest staffing of 292 Judicial Officers, followed by Chief Magistrates with 77 Judicial Officers and Magistrates Grade II with the lowest staffing of 22 Judicial Officers as at 31st December 2022,” he said.

Under special court innovations, for the calendar year, 2022, the Small Claims Court resolved 21,819 Commercial disputes from which a total of Shs 12,387,209,913 was unlocked and made available for reinvestment back into the economy.

In addition to the Small Claims procedure, the Plea-Bargaining process for criminal cases also played a great role in delivering quick and acceptable justice to the parties and it undoubtedly helped in reducing case backlog and decongestion of prisons.

During the year 2022, Plea-bargaining sessions were conducted at Mbarara, Mukono, Masindi, Jinja, Mbale and Mubende High Court Circuits. The Criminal Division also conducted plea bargain sessions at Rukungiri, Kabale, Entebbe, Mbarara and Luzira Magistrate courts.

In all these sessions, out of 3,162 cases cause-listed for Plea-Bargaining sessions, 2,830 cases were completed translating into a 90 per cent completion rate. According to Justice Dollo, out of the 2,830 completed cases, 2,254 cases were completed at the High Court level while 576 cases were completed by Magistrates Courts.

“The High Court spent Shs676,2000,000 to dispose of the 2,254 Cases, but if the cases went for a full trial, the Government would have spent Shs 2,254,000,000 to complete them; hence there was a saving of Shs 1,577,800,000. At the Magistrates Court Level, the Government spent Shs172,800,000 instead of Shs216,000,000 which would have been spent for full trials of the same cases, hence saving Shs43,200,000,” Justice Dollo said.

He also revealed that Plea Bargaining has also been the best tool in promoting community reconciliation in line with Article 126(2) of the Constitution of Uganda.

“Reconciliation as a mode of dispute resolution has stood the test of time as the most acceptable indigenous African mode of dispute settlement across different ethnicities in Africa. Plea Bargain also guarantees victim involvement and strives to balance the rights of the victim against those of the accused and the society at large.”

He added, “This exceptional performance gives the Judiciary Family and the Ugandans we serve the hope that in the near future, the ghost of case backlog will be banished and the people of Uganda will be able to receive meaningful, cost-effective and timely justice within a walkable distance.”


Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
ShareTweetSendShare

Related Posts

Maama Janet and President Museveni visited Mrs. Fausta Nalweyiso on Monday in Kibumbiro, Busega. The President praised her dedication to the Parish Development Model through her piggery project which he found very impressive.
Agriculture

MIKE SSEGAWA: Museveni’s PDM Tour; A Journey of Connection and Transformation

14th July 2025 at 22:49
Community News

Justice George Kanyeihamba Passes Away at 85, Leaving a Lasting Legacy in Uganda

14th July 2025 at 09:39
Dr. Ayub Mukisa (Ph.D.)
News

Dr. Ayub Mukisa: For the Fate and Future of Karamoja: Stakeholders need to Prioritise Climate Change Issue

14th July 2025 at 09:30
Next Post
Norbert Mao

Minister Mao calls for full operationalization of ‘The Administration of the Judiciary Act 2020’

  • Prostitution in Uganda- Courtesy Photo

    10 dangerous hotspots known for prostitutes in Kampala

    1135 shares
    Share 454 Tweet 284
  • Silent Billionaire Bosco Muwonge Buys Mukwano Arcade at UGX 250 Billion Cash Down

    56 shares
    Share 22 Tweet 14
  • Who is Bosco Muwonge, Uganda’s elusive real estate billionaire?

    41 shares
    Share 16 Tweet 10
  • LIST: New salary structure for civil servants starting July 2020 out; scientists, lecturers get juicy pay rise

    2291 shares
    Share 916 Tweet 573
  • Uganda’s Billionaires 2025: Once Again Sudhir Ruparelia Leads a Resilient Pack

    51 shares
    Share 20 Tweet 13
Facebook Twitter

Contact Information

Watchdog Uganda is a portal for solution journalism, trending news plus cutting edge commentaries in the fields of politics, security, business, tourism, entertainment, technology, agriculture, climate change, environment, public health et al. We also give preference to Ugandan community news and topical discussions. The portal also publishes community news and topical discussions.

Email: editorial@watchdoguganda.com
To Advertise:Click here

Latest News

Maama Janet and President Museveni visited Mrs. Fausta Nalweyiso on Monday in Kibumbiro, Busega. The President praised her dedication to the Parish Development Model through her piggery project which he found very impressive.

MIKE SSEGAWA: Museveni’s PDM Tour; A Journey of Connection and Transformation

14th July 2025 at 22:49
Mashable is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company For more queries and news contact us on this Email: info@mashablepartners.com

Check out

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Minister Muruli Mukasa

LIST: New salary structure for civil servants starting July 2020 out; scientists, lecturers get juicy pay rise

24th May 2020 at 10:45
Pregnant woman

Shock as 17-year old boy impregnates his two sisters during Covid-19 lockdown 

17th June 2020 at 08:17
Sudhir Ruparelia is the undisputed king of Kampala

Billionaire Sudhir’s wisdom on how to invest in real estate

0

How a boy’s destiny turned from cotton grower to communications guru

0
Maama Janet and President Museveni visited Mrs. Fausta Nalweyiso on Monday in Kibumbiro, Busega. The President praised her dedication to the Parish Development Model through her piggery project which he found very impressive.

MIKE SSEGAWA: Museveni’s PDM Tour; A Journey of Connection and Transformation

14th July 2025 at 22:49

Justice George Kanyeihamba Passes Away at 85, Leaving a Lasting Legacy in Uganda

14th July 2025 at 09:39

© 2025 Watchdog Uganda

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Media Outreach Newswire
    • Africa News
    • Tourism
    • Community News
    • Luganda
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Motorsport
  • Op-Ed
    • #Out2Lunch
    • Conversations with
    • Politics
    • Relationships
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • CEOs & Entrepreneurs,
    • Companies
    • Finance
    • Products
    • RealEstate
    • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
  • People
    • Showbiz
      • Salon Mag
  • Special Report
    • Education
    • Voices
  • Reviews
    • Products
    • Events
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • WD-TV
  • Donate
  • China News

© 2025 Watchdog Uganda