Court moves to strike out dozens of stalled criminal appeals

In an effort to ease pressure on Uganda’s courts, the Court of Appeal is set to clear a backlog of criminal cases that, for one reason or another, can no longer move forward.

On Tuesday, March 31, the court will convene a one-day “weed-out” session in Kampala, targeting 26 appeals that have lingered on the docket for years. According to a statement shared by the Judiciary on X, many of these cases have effectively stalled due to circumstances beyond the court’s control.

Some appellants have escaped from prison. Others have already served their sentences and been released. In several cases, the appellants are no longer alive. A few have simply withdrawn their appeals.

Altogether, the picture is one of a system grappling with cases that are still formally open, but no longer have a clear legal path forward.

The judiciary described the session as an effort to “determine the proper status of each matter and remove those that cannot proceed,” a move aimed at strengthening case management and helping the courts deliver justice more efficiently.

Behind the numbers lies a deeper issue of time. The appeals scheduled for review were filed between 2010 and 2022, a span that reflects both the persistence of Uganda’s case backlog and the slow, complex journey many criminal cases take through the system.

The offences themselves are serious. Aggravated defilement accounts for the largest share, with 13 appeals on the list. Murder and aggravated robbery follow, with six cases each, alongside a single appeal related to rape.

For the court, however, the focus is not on re-litigating these crimes, but on resolving whether the appeals themselves still have legal standing.

The session will bring together key actors in Uganda’s justice system, including representatives from the Uganda Prisons Service, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, members of the Bar, and, where possible, the appellants themselves.

A panel of three justices—Geoffrey Kiryabwire, Moses Kazibwe Kawumi, and Stella Alibateese—is expected to preside over the proceedings.

According to the official cause list signed by Registrar HW Rukundo Allen Owembabazi, the exercise forms part of a broader push by the judiciary to reduce backlog and improve the pace at which cases are resolved.

It is, in many ways, a practical intervention—less visible than high-profile trials, but no less important. By clearing cases that can no longer proceed, the court frees up time and resources for those that can.

And in a justice system where delays have long been a concern, even a single day dedicated to clearing the past may help create space for more timely decisions in the future.