A Justice of the Court of Appeal, Geoffrey Kiryabwire, has issued a stark warning that Uganda’s judicial system faces imminent collapse unless the public embraces alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms.
Speaking on Friday while delivering a keynote address during an ADR workshop in Mbarara City, Justice Kiryabwire cautioned that the judiciary lacks the capacity to handle every societal misunderstanding through formal litigation.
‘If people stop talking and mediating, choosing court as the only option to resolve their disputes, then the judicial system will collapse and prisons will turn into remand homes,’ Justice Kiryabwire warned.
He urged the public to reflect on how communities maintained harmony before the introduction of formal courts in Uganda in 1902. He argued that traditional, community-led mediation options should be exploited to prevent the lasting hatred and wastage of resources associated with formal court battles.
Justice Kiryabwire further advised litigious citizens to prepare for long delays, revealing that the judiciary is severely overstretched.
‘In the Court of Appeal, we are only 18 justices, yet we have 14,000 cases before us. We sit in quorums of between four and five judges. Even if we chose to sit every single day, we would not finish this work. Yet, you have a case, refuse an alternative resolution, choose to appeal, and still expect to get timely justice?’ he questioned.
To illustrate the magnitude of the crisis, Justice Kiryabwire presented findings from the National Court Case Census report. The data highlights a staggering nationwide case backlog, defined as cases that have remained unresolved in the court system for more than two years.
According to the report, the Central region leads with 65,668 pending cases and a backlog of 16,224. The Western region follows closely with 48,525 pending cases and 15,375 in backlog. The Eastern region has 36,182 pending cases (11,028 backlog), while the Northern region has the lowest numbers with 16,978 pending cases and a backlog of 3,915.2
Reacting to the crisis, senior advocate Francis Butagira noted that the formal judicial system remains too expensive and slow for ordinary Ugandans. He called on the judiciary to urgently integrate traditional justice systems into formal court processes.
‘In the past, there were clear mechanisms on how conflicts were resolved in communities and people lived in harmony. Today, it is all about power and ego. If we integrate the traditional justice system into formal courts, we will have timely delivery of justice,’ Mr. Butagira said.
In response, Justice Kiryabwire revealed that major structural reforms are underway to ensure that formal courts become a last resort for conflict resolution.
‘All cases and disputes will start with dialogue at the grassroots. The government has already approved a White Paper on Alternative Dispute Resolution, and we are soon going to have an ADR Act,’ he revealed.
However, members of the public attending the workshop expressed skepticism about the implementation of ADR, accusing legal practitioners of sabotage.
‘The lawyers fuel cases to be resolved in courts because they know this is how they will earn. They actively frustrate efforts to resolve cases amicably out of court,’ said Mr Polly Muyambi, a participant.