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Karuhanga Proposes Temporary Appointment of Lawyers for Judicial Assignments

Karuhanga reasoned that courts are grappling with case backlog due to limited judicial officers yet there are many senior lawyers who can be appointed temporarily to act as judges or magistrates for mission-based hearings.
12 Jan 2025 15:24
Elison Karuhanga, addresses the press in Gulu City on Friday.

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Elison Karuhanga, one of the lawyers aspiring to represent the Uganda Law Society (ULS) on the Judicial Service Commission has proposed the appointment of lawyers for temporary judicial assignments to addresses rising case backlogs in Courts.

Karuhanga reasoned that courts are grappling with case backlog due to limited judicial officers yet there are many senior lawyers who can be appointed temporarily to act as judges or magistrates for mission-based hearings.

Speaking to Journalists in Gulu City Friday, Karuhanga said the demand for justice has currently outstripped the court’s ability to supply justice and called for honest discussions on how the challenges can be resolved.

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Karuhanga is among the 14 nominees unveiled last year by the Uganda Law Society to vie for representing ULS on the Judicial Service Commission that is mandated to among others appoint confirm and promote Judicial officers to various Magisterial positions.

Outlining his main interests for the position, Karuhanga said there is an urgent need to address pertinent matters in the Judiciary among them judicial appointments, corruption, and delayed delivery of justice.

Pointing out at Judicial recruitment particularly, Karuhanga suggested the need to have a more transparent and strengthened process of appointing judicial officers. He added that stringent measures have to be put in place to curb corruption which has grave effects on dispensation of justice to Ugandans.

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ULS members were scheduled to elect two nominees for the Judicial Service Commission position on December 17 last year during its Extra Ordinary General Meeting.

Justice Musa Ssekaana however on December 13th blocked the Extra Ordinary Annual General Meeting for the lawyers following an application filed by Hashim Mugisha Mugisha, an aggrieved member of ULS challenging the legality of the meeting and manner in which the posts that were to be filled fell vacant.

Karuhanga however over the weekend said the injunction is temporary and showed optimism that they will have a fair representation in the Judicial Service Commission.

“The court order is temporary in every sense, and we shall reach a time when membership of the law society will be selecting its nominees to send to the president,” he said.

The judiciary 4th Annual Performance Report for the Financial Year 2023/24 launched in October last year highlighted corruption, bribery and understaffing as major concerns within the Judiciary that affect performance and contributes to case backlog.

The report however revealed the Judiciary’s significant achievement in completing 239,431 cases out of a total caseload of 401,269. Delayed adjudication of cases and case backlog accounted for 26.3 percent of the pending caseload, with 42,588 cases classified as backlog, according to the report.

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