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A case is considered backlogged if it has been in the court system for more than two years, and pending cases are unresolved and carried forward at the end of the month.
According to the judicial spokesperson, Justice James Ereemye, the case backlog is a lesser component, indicating that courts are taking all necessary steps to remove the case backlog.
He added, “In August this year, the court brought forward 158,366 pending cases from July to August. As we register new cases, we also dispose of them. In August, we disposed of 20,602 cases. You can see that the disposal and registration are almost in tandem. That’s why you see that we need all these interventions to ensure that we increase case disposal.”
According to reports, a number of cases were started during the lockdown but never finished because of tight lockdown limitations that affected several industries, including the court. Even though courts were open during the lockdowns, judicial operations were greatly reduced, leaving fewer judges, magistrates, court clerks, and state attorneys available to handle incoming cases in accordance with physical distancing measures deemed necessary to slow down coronavirus infections.
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Karamagi noted, “Mediation usually helps to resolve small cases related to non-payment of salaries, loss of jobs, and loan default matters but is less effective in tackling large commercial disputes.”
According to official data, the total number of outstanding cases in Ugandan courts' backlogs was expected to be 50,000 by the end of May. The judiciary aims to settle 6,000 of these cases by the end of June 2024.