Central Bank Governor urges judiciary to expedite banking disputes

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The Governor of the Bank of Uganda, Michael Atingi-Ego, has urged the judiciary to expedite commercial disputes, saying every delayed judgment in a commercial dispute is effectively a tax on investment and a brake on the transmission of monetary policy itself.

Atingi-Ego made the resounding appeal at the opening of a two-day colloquium for judicial officers, banking institutions, and legal stakeholders on the role of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in unlocking commercial disputes at Serena-Kigo in Wakiso district on Thursday, April 9, 2026.

“Let us be specific about the stakes. Currently, it is reported that 623 unresolved banking disputes are locking up an estimated sh2 trillion in dispute value. For the economy, this is dead capital. For banks, it means capital tied up in provisioning,” Atingi-Ego noted.

He revealed that under the central bank’s prudential framework, a non-performing loan triggers mandatory provisioning the moment a borrower defaults.

“Therefore, every shilling locked in a disputed loan is a shilling that cannot be reinvested into the productive sectors of our economy,” Atingi-Ego said.

Atingi-Ego thanked the judiciary for reengineering ADR, saying it is not a lesser substitute for justice but a sophisticated complement that recognises that speed, technical expertise, and confidentiality are necessities in the commercial world.

“In the financial sector, disputes are often highly technical and time-sensitive. ADR mechanisms—mediation, negotiation, and arbitration—offer a way to resolve these complexities without the adversarial depletion of funds. This is why ADR is not merely a justice sector matter; it is a macroeconomic imperative required to achieve our Vision 2040 and the ambitious Tenfold Growth agenda,” Atingi-Ego noted.

ADR as a solution

Underscoring the importance of the colloquium, Atingi-Ego said, “When a judge understands the systemic implications of a banking sector ruling, he or she does not compromise her independence, she exercises it more wisely. Knowledge of the regulatory environment and the impact of rulings on financial stability is not a threat to autonomy; it is the foundation of it.”

Atingi-Ego remarked that Uganda is a country of extraordinary potential, but the single most powerful key to unlocking it is the quality of commercial justice.

“The judicial officers in this room are among the most consequential economic actors in Uganda. Every ruling you make ripples through the credit markets and into the lives of our citizens,” Atingi-Ego said.

He appealed to the banking sector to embrace ADR as a strategic instrument of economic development.

With over sh3.5 trillion locked up in commercial disputes, the Chief Justice, Dr Flavian Zeija, has directed the judges at the Commercial Division of the High Court to dedicate one month to resolving banking-related disputes to unlock the economy.

Statistics from the commercial court indicate that there are over 623 pending banking-related disputes before the court worth about sh1.9 trillion, of which 354 cases worth about sh1.7 trillion have been classified as backlog, having been in the judicial system for more than two years.

“One of the most pressing challenges we face today is the significant value of financial resources tied up in unresolved litigation. At the commercial court alone, the monetary value of the total pending caseload is estimated at approximately sh3.5 trillion as of February 2026. Therefore, a special month should be dedicated to banking disputes to unlock the economy,” Zeija directed.

Give banking issues priority

Zeija said the unresolved commercial disputes represent frozen capital that cannot be reinvested, circulated, or utilised productively within the economy, directing judicial officers to give priority to commercial-related disputes.

“By facilitating the expeditious resolution of disputes, we can release capital back into the economy, enhance investor confidence, reduce case backlog, and improve overall judicial efficiency,” Zeija noted.

Encouraging judicial officers to give priority to banking disputes, Zeija noted that a loan default has an effect on the interest rate payable by borrowers, including themselves.

He noted that the consequences of unresolved commercial disputes are far-reaching, including constrained business operations, delayed investments, reduced economic activity, increased pressure on the justice system, and broader financial instability.

“As our economy continues to expand and commercial transactions grow in complexity, so too do the disputes that arise. The Judiciary must therefore evolve not only to adjudicate disputes but also to facilitate efficient, practical, and sustainable mechanisms that support economic growth. ADR is, therefore, no longer optional; it is a national policy