Rukungiri– On Tuesday, the High Court sitting at Rukungiri commenced an in-house criminal session with 40 cases cause-listed.
The session was launched with a pre-session meeting that brought together key justice stakeholders, including officers from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), defence counsel, court assessors, and representatives from the Uganda Police Force and Uganda Prisons Service.
Presiding over the meeting, Lady Justice Susan Kanyange emphasized the need for effective time management to avoid delays in proceedings. She urged advocates to meet and brief their clients in advance and called for maximum cooperation among all stakeholders to ensure the timely disposal of cases. To State Attorneys, she stressed the importance of ensuring that witnesses are readily available.
Assistant Registrar Hellen Atigo informed the meeting that the session will handle 40 cases, comprising 10 of murder, 13 of aggravated defilement, nine of rape, seven of aggravated robbery, one of aggravated trafficking, and one of aggravated torture.
Lady Justice Kanyange reaffirmed the Judiciary’s commitment to delivering justice without undue delay, observing that criminal sessions are crucial in reducing case backlog and restoring public confidence. She noted that while the circuit has been conducting consecutive in-house criminal sessions, there is now a need to hold out-of-station sessions in Kanungu. She tasked the Assistant Registrar to bring this to the attention of the Registrar of the High Court for consideration in future sessions.
“We must be seen doing justice to those near and far. We must work together to ensure that every case is handled efficiently so that the victims, the accused persons, and the community at large can see justice served,” she said.
The Judge also advised lawyers with pending bail applications and appeals to ensure that these are served on the ODPP and scheduled with guidance from the Assistant Registrar.
The pre-session meeting was followed by plea-taking.
