Budaka Chief Magistrate Court commissioned

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Efforts to strengthen the capacity of lower courts and reduce case backlogs have gained momentum. On Thursday, Principal Judge Lady Justice Jane Frances Abodo officially commissioned the Budaka Magistrate Court, upgrading it from a Grade One Court to a Chief Magistrate Court.

Addressing the audience under the theme "Justice Listens, Serves, and Resolves," the Principal Judge challenged judicial officers to embrace this new approach to expedite the administration of justice, while still upholding the essential principle of impartiality.

“Expanding the magistrate’s court's jurisdiction not only broadens its operational scope but also means that more cases, which were previously handled by higher courts, will now be addressed by the magistrate’s court,” noted the lady justice.

Recently, Parliament passed the Magistrate Amendment Bill on March 26, 2026, which has received approval from President Yoweri Museveni.

Key reforms in the bill allow chief magistrates to handle cases with a value of up to sh200 million, an increase from the previous limit of sh50 million.

The reforms allow grade one magistrates, who are subordinates of the chief magistrate, to handle cases valued at sh100 million, up from the previous limit of sh20 million.

The principal judge contended that the expansion of the lower court jurisdiction arose from extensive scrutiny of why higher courts experienced pressure of case backlog.

“Many cases that have lain before higher courts could ably be managed by lower courts, but before the bill, lower courts would procedurally refer them to higher courts, which explains why judges would have a backlog of cases in their thousands while lower courts would have a backlog of cases in a few hundreds,” she observed.

She challenged judicial officers in lower courts to prioritise their time effectively.

“Keep yourselves healthy, avoid monotonous mental burnout, have time for gym or jogging, otherwise you risk breaking down and succumbing to a lengthy state of poor health,” cautioned the principal judge.

Justice Farouk Lubega, the Mbale Resident Judge, decried the inefficiency of Police investigating officers in the region, saying that innocent victims are not only largely getting apprehended but also rot in prison for years, over criminal matters they hardly participated in.

He said a poor investigation chain by Police case officers is a major challenge facing the criminal justice system in the Mbale High Circuit.

Earlier, the resident judge lamented the inadequate number of critical staff, the deteriorated court premises, and the lack of furniture in most magistrate courts within the region, calling on the judiciary to take action.

The occasion was attended by a cross-section of stakeholders in the administration of justice, notably representatives of the resident state attorney, lawyers, public defenders, police, prison and litigants.