Masaka Justice Crashes as Lawyers Down Tools

Lawyers stopped working across the Masaka region because courts lack enough judges. The Masaka Lawyers Association says one High Court judge handles 4,290 cases across nine districts. Alexander Lule leads the lawyer group and demanded more judges from court officials. He met with the principal judge last year but received no additional help. The lawyers refuse to return until the court system adds more judges.

Each judge works about 198 days per year after removing weekends and holidays. Even handling five cases daily would take over 22 years to clear the backlog. Davis Kiconco said one judge and registrar cannot manage hundreds of pending cases. The shortage keeps suspects in jail longer than necessary. Deputy Chief Justice Flavian Zeija promised to recruit more judges during a March court event.

Court officials consider letting chief magistrates handle serious cases to reduce the workload. The constitution allows the President to appoint temporary judges without full benefits. Lawyer Elison Karuhanga suggested using Uganda Law Society members as temporary judges. The current system prevents fair elections for law society representatives. Legal experts say the judicial system fails without proper lawyer representation.