KAMPALA– The Judiciary of Uganda has commended judicial officers in Magistrates Courts for their outstanding contribution towards the successful implementation of the Small Claims Procedure (SCP). The SCP allows individuals to resolve financial disputes involving amounts below Shs10 million without the involvement of advocates.
During an awards ceremony held on Thursday evening at the Judiciary headquarters in Kampala, magistrates from the best performing SCP courts were honoured for their exemplary service.
His Worship Sengendo Saad was crowned the overall Small Claims Procedure Champion and named SCP Magistrate of the Year 2025. Hakibaale Court emerged as the Best SCP Court of the Year 2025, while Mr. Robert Katwesigye received recognition as the best performing staff member under the SCP.
Across the regions, Kiboga Chief Magistrates Court was declared the best in Central Region Cluster One, while Kawempe Chief Magistrates Court led in Central Region Cluster Two. In the Eastern Region, Soroti Chief Magistrates Court topped Cluster One and Tororo Chief Magistrates Court emerged best in Cluster Two.
Masindi Chief Magistrates Court was named the best in Western Region, Rukungiri Chief Magistrates Court in the South Western Region, Arua Chief Magistrates Court in the West Nile Region and Padel Grade One Magistrates Court in the Northern Region. Buikwe Chief Magistrates Court was recognised as the most improved court under the Small Claims Procedure.
While launching the 2025 SCP performance report, the Principal Judge, Lady Justice Jane Frances Abodo, congratulated the winners and encouraged other courts to work harder and achieve similar success in the coming years.
“I thank Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire for his exceptional leadership on the Small Claims Procedure Implementation Committee, which produced this report. Without proper leadership, this innovation would not have achieved the success it has registered,” she said.
Justice Abodo pledged to continue working with both judicial officers and non-support staff to transform the Judiciary into one of the best performing institutions in the country.
She noted that most Ugandans experience justice not through legal texts or court buildings, but through the fairness and dignity they encounter when they interact with the first point of justice under the Small Claims Procedure.
Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire, the head of the SCP implementation team, congratulated Justice Abodo upon her appointment as Principal Judge and noted that as the Judiciary prepares to mark ten years since the introduction of the SCP, the initiative has become the most successful innovation so far.
He revealed that in its first year of implementation in 2011, the Small Claims Procedure recovered about Shs1.5 billion, but this has since grown to Shs14.9 billion in the current financial year.
Deputy Registrar for Small Claims Procedure, Ms. Mastula Mulondo, reported that SCP started in just six pilot courts but has now expanded nationwide, operating in 223 courts across the country.
