Kalangala residents demand that Government sets up mobile courts

The residents say that the level of crime in the district is at its highest level, and therefore it would make sense if they had access to courts wherever and whenever.

According to New Vision, a Ugandan daily newspaper, the residents also pointed out the challenge of the police in the district having weak cells, thus leading to the escape of core criminals who later terrorise people in certain areas within the district.

While talking to the newspaper, Gertrude Namusisi, a resident of Mazinga Island, said that mobile courts could be a positive response to their justice demands.

"We have high rates of crime in the district, but we are facing challenges getting justice because we do not have courts on the island. We have to travel a long distance to the Kalangala district Magistrates Court, which is very expensive for most of us," she told the newspaper.

According to the paper, the communities living on Mazinga, Bukasa, and Bubeke islands made the appeal during a fact-finding tour by the Judicial Service Commission recently.

Some of the most common crimes in Kalangala district include domestic violence, sexual harassment, human rights violations, child abuse, and land conflicts, among others.

According to the 2022 Police Crime Report, the number of crimes committed in the country increased dramatically in 2022 when compared to the previous year.

The indicated that the number of offences grew by more than 18% in one year compared to the previous one.

"A total of 231,653 cases were reported in 2022, up from 1960–81 in 2021. Thefts increased by 41% to 61508 from 43583 in 2021, while assaults increased by 9% from 29317 to 32041," the report revealed.

Domestic violence instances grew by 1% to 17698 from 17533 reported in 2021, while breakings increased by 36% to 13826 from 10,148 the previous year, according to the data.

Child-related offences saw the greatest increase in the number of instances committed and reported to police, up 55% from 8681 to 13489.

Robbery instances increased by 30% in 2022, from 5275 to 6854, while killings increased by 3%, to 4043 from 3912 reported the previous year, 2021.