The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Mukono, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Chief Justice of Uganda, Alfonse Owiny Dollo has warned lawyers against hoodwinking people to file cases that have no merit, with the intention of defrauding their clients.
Speaking at the commissioning of the New Mukono High Court building, Dollo said that filling cases that do not deserve the attention of the courts contributes to case backlog.
Dollo noted that it is unethical and disrespectful for lawyers to charge their clients after promising them to file cases well aware that such cases must be dismissed by the court.
“That is also a corruption tendency which must be avoided, to the judicial officers here, as we set good physical buildings, we must also work towards making justice a reality for the common man on a daily basis,” Dollo notes.
Mukono High Court relocated to the new court building in November 2022, the now permanent home is located on plot 4114 works road near the district headquarters.
The court was operating in a rented premise without basic facilities since 2016 and the judiciary was spending 170 million Shillings on rent every year.
The new court building comprises different courtrooms, sound locks, exhibit storage, jury and auxiliary facilities, and a security house. 1.3 billion Shillings was spent on the construction.
The court occupies an acre of land that was provided by Mukono district administration in September 2029, on a leasehold title of 37 years.
The Principal Judge, Flavian Zeija said that the new High Court building is a manifestation of the judiciary’s commitment to construct standardized courts throughout the country.
“We held the Bar-Bench Forum meeting and one of the issues raised by the advocates was inadequate space in many of our courts. I conducted national wide inspections of all High Court stations and all magisterial areas. One of the issues that featured prominently was limited space and dilapidated court structures which do not depict a good image of what a court of justice should look like.” Zeija revealed.
The Austrian Head of Delegation to Uganda, Dr. Roswitha Kremser asked the judiciary to work towards solving the case backlog of sexual and gender-based violence across the country.
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