Kasese Resident Judge (left), Senior Resident Judge (middle), Principal Judge (right)
BY JOACKIM KULE
The Ugandan Judiciary has today officially launched the operations of Kasese High Court Circuit.
The Kasese High Court is among the first four new circuits including Bushenyi, Kiboga and Kitgum out of 18 across the country that have officially been made operational just a year after they were gazetted.
Shortly after being gazetted, the Kasese High Court Circuit started its operations from the premises of Fort-portal High Court in September 2023 as the Judiciary was preparing for the transfer of its services to the district.
In April this year, the Registry was migrated from Fort-portal to Kasese and the High Court sessions started being conducted at the premises of the Chief Magistrate’s Court at Rukoki.
In his address, Hon. Justice Emmy Vincent Mugabo, the Senior Resident Judge for Fort-portal High Court indicated that after getting petitions from the Kasese District Chairperson demanding for services of the High Court in the district, he was able to convince the Principal Judge who saw it prudent to extend services nearer to the people in Kasese.
Hon. Justice Mugabo observed that the people Kasese were being hindered from accessing the judicial services because they were sometimes unable to walk to Fort-Portal due to the geographical nature while others were being affected by the language barrier.
Hon. Justice David Samson Makumbi, the Kasese Resident Judge while addressing the gathering explained that since he started handling cases in the new circuit, he has been able to complete two criminal cases while one is still ongoing. Hon.
Officiating at the launch, Hon. Justice Dr. Flavian Zeija, the Principal Judge told the gathering that he was happy that Kasese High Court Circuit has been made operational and this according to him would help to minimize the hardships that the residents were going through while seeking judicial services from Fort-portal Tourism City.
He also revealed that they were planning to spread the Courts of Appeal to the regional levels in order to curtail the people from travelling long distances to Kampala.
The Principal Judge appealed to the judicial officers to serve the population with distinction and ensure zero tolerance to corruption.
He asked them to also encourage the people to adopt the use of alternative ways of resolving disputes out of courts through mediations of the clan and cultural leaders among others.
The Kasese District Chairperson, Mr. Eliphazi Muhindi Bukombi told the gathering that the establishment of the High Court was a fulfillment of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) manifesto that prioritizes justice.
ENDS