A public baraza organized by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to hear concerns on gender-based violence and land crimes quickly narrowed to land conflicts as locals voiced frustration with the justice system.
Locals from far and near walked to the venue as early as 10am for the baraza that had been widely publicized on local radios to start at 2pm on Tuesday. It was presided over by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Lino Anguzu.
Ms Florence Tiko from Oluko Ward in Arua City said her land case file had disappeared since 2014 and she was determined not to lose her family land.
“Since 2014, I have been moving here when my file disappeared but I have the number, I have used everything that I had to see that I do not lose our family land since all my siblings have died,” she said.
“I am now very poor and my relatives chase me like a chicken thief since I am a woman, please help me to resolve this case,” she added.
She said all her deceased siblings were girls, and now their cousins want to repossess all the land left by their parents.
“Why do you want us to first be killed before you can make judgement on my case?” she asked.
Ms Rose Eyotaru from Maracha District sought the DPP’s intervention in a case involving Liru Primary School, where she won ownership of the land but Koboko District went ahead to construct the school on it.
For Mr Omar Ahmed, a resident of Swalia cell in Arua City Central Division, he called for modification of the Arua High Court building, saying it was not accessible to people with disabilities.
Arua Circuit Resident Judge Grace Harriet Magala said she will present the complaint to responsible authorities, noting the building was constructed before current regulations favouring people with disabilities came into place.
Responding to queries, DPP Lino Anguzu directed those with individual complaints to report to his staff who had travelled with him.
“I listened to the questions the public put very passionately and I think it is now very clear that most cases we have are land related conflicts and that is eye opener for us,” he said.
He noted that research shows empirical evidence that land conflicts contribute to the biggest crimes Uganda is grappling with.
He said the complaints show the justice system is struggling to meet the needs and aspirations of locals in their quest for justice.
“We need to examine our justice system, interrogate it to see whether it is responding to the current challenges that have been posed to the system. I think there is a need for introspection from all of us with all our law and order sector actors to look back and see whether we are doing the right thing to respond to the concerns of our people,” Anguzu said.
He admitted that concerns raised demonstrate they were not adequately responding to people’s needs.
According to Mr Richard Muhereza, the West Nile regional DPP, of the 355 cases committed and awaiting trial at the High Court, 201 were gender-based violence related cases, adding that most violence cases were related to land.