Small Claims Procedure excites Mpigi residents

By Betty Amamukirori

STELLA Nabukenya a resident of Nsangi in Wakiso district lent sh3m to a friend in 2012. To date the friend has failed to repay the loan despite several demands.

“I do not have the money to hire a lawyer to mitigate my case before court and I cannot also go to police because they sometimes ask for money,” she said.

She was among the hundreds of people from Gomba, Wakiso, Mpigi and Butambala districts who thronged Mpigi Chief Magistrate’s court to witness the launch of Small Claims procedure on Saturday.

The procedure is a new form of mediation in matters arising out of supply of goods, debts and rent, introduced by the Judiciary with an intention of decongesting the prisons and reducing case backlog.

During the launch, Justice David Batema of Fort Portal High Court said that the judiciary in 2012, agreed to introduce a Small Claims Procedure in every magistrates court in order to offer cheap and a faster solution to people with small claim civil matters.

“We realized that we were wasting a lot of time in the courts handling small claim matters which actually can be resolved in the lower courts within the shortest time possible,” Batema said.

He said the procedure will only handle matters whose value do not exceed sh10m and the magistrates courts will ensure that the issue is handled within 14 days, failure of which the matter can then be referred for a full trial in court.

Batema noted that the Small Claims Procedure does not require any legal representation and the parties involved will not waste their money during the procedure.

“The parties to a small claim are mediated by a judicial officer to reach a quick agreement, avoiding technical procedures, excluding lawyers, consequently shortening the usually lengthy and costly court process,” he said amidst a deafening applause from the jubilant residents.

He however said that with the procedure, the parties have no room for appealing but in case they find new evidence that can change the outcomes of the case, they can apply for a review.

Swaibu Lubega Waggwa the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Mpigi district said that procedure once instituted will help to reduce the number of deaths that have occurred due to failure by one party to clear a debt.

“So many relationships have been soiled due to debts, people have lost lives, property and many are languishing in the prisons just because they failed to honor their debts. This procedure I believe will help in amicable resolution of disputes,” he said.

The Town Clerk, Mpigi district, Matia Bwanika said this new form of mediation will help put bribery and fraud in check. He said people have used money lending as a tool of fleecing poor villagers of their hard earned cash.

He asked residents to always ask for receipts or make written agreements during transactions in order to be on the safer side

Meanwhile, the regional police commander, Katonga region, Abraham Bentonyeza saw the procedure as a relief that is going to carry away the burden of demanding for debts on behalf of the creditors.

Mpigi is the 15th district in Uganda to receive the Small Claims Procedure. The procedure was launched first in Mengo, Masaka, Lira and Kabale Districts in 2012, before rolling it out to other districts.