The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Judiciary has revealed that it is yet to put up kiosks to sensitize ordinary people on how to use its new technology to file cases as the institution embarks on a move to eliminate paper usage.
In October 2021, Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo launched the Electronic Court Case Management System- ECCMIS, saying that it is supposed to start at the beginning of the New Law Year 2022, whereby every information needed in court was to be submitted online.
Owiny-Dollo said this was being done to further quicken access to justice and to reduce contact between the litigating public and court staff in a bid to curb corruption and deter anyone from corrupting court data.
However, the Judiciary had indicated that it was going to sensitize the ordinary court users on how to file their cases online by putting up kiosks where people can walk to and be freely taught how to use the system.
But Uganda Radio Network visited a number of courts in Kampala where the system was to start from but there was nothing put in place yet.
In an interview with the Judiciary’s Public Relations Officer Jameson Karemani on Monday about the progress of ECCMIS, he indicated that they have trained all stakeholders in Justice Administration such as lawyers and judicial officers about how they can use the system before it starts on the Judiciary’s New Law Year on February 4th 2022.
But Karemani hastened to add that the ordinary people whom they had indicated will be sensitized by setting up kiosks with computers and internet at various courts have not yet been sensitized.
According to Karemani, the rolling out of ECCMIS is going to be on a pilot phase and the project will be starting with the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, all High Court divisions in Kampala, Jinja High Court circuit, all Magistrates in Kampala and Jinja such as Kakira and Bugembe for the first phase.
He adds that they are waiting for the Chief Justice to make an official announcement on the New Law Year to the effect that the aforementioned courts will start using the system because everything has been put in place and only kiosks haven’t been established at the moment.
Karemani is optimistic however that before this month ends, the kiosks will have been put in place and once they are established, the Judiciary’s technical committee will be inspecting them and give guidance on what needs to be done. He emphasized that come February, the project must start in the aforementioned courts.
Asked why the kiosks haven’t been put in place now with only a month left to its implementation, Karemani noted that it is not yet late because everything is being put in place and once the first phase is done, the Judiciary will in two years’ time extend the project to other courts after assessing how it is progressing.
In 2019, the Judiciary signed a five-year contract worth 9.2 billion shillings with Synergy International Systems to set up the Electronic Court Case Management Information System and the digitalization of court proceedings.
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