Senior Reporter
Concerns have been raised by authorities in Kabale District regarding the growing instances of corruption among court clerks, potentially obstructing justice for Ugandans. The issue was highlighted by Kabale Deputy Resident Commissioner, Andrew Ronald Bakak, during the Kabale High Court open day held at the court premises in Kabale Municipality. The event, themed “Enhancing Judicial Accountability and Access to Justice,” aimed to address challenges within the justice system.
Bakak disclosed that court clerks have been involved in corrupt practices, such as confiscating clients’ files to extort bribes. He recounted a case where a suspect, after being remanded to Ndorwa Government Prison, faced difficulties as his file went missing whenever he appeared in court. Bakak emphasized that such actions undermine the delivery of justice and called for condemnation of such behavior.
Kabale High Court Judge, Justice Samuel Emokor, provided statistics indicating that there are 587 pending cases across all categories at the high court level, with 166 of them classified as backlogs. To address this, the court, in collaboration with advocates, is actively working to reduce case backlogs by enforcing mandatory filing of mediation summaries alongside regular pleadings.
Responding to the concerns, Honorable Justice Dr. Flavian Zeija, the Principal Judge of the High Court of Uganda and chief guest at the event, attributed the rise in corruption among court clerks to the public’s failure to report corrupt officials within the judiciary.
