Staff Reporter
The Deputy Chief Justice, Richard Buteera, has indicated that the judiciary will struggle to handle court cases promptly unless there is a transition to alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
Justice Buteera made this statement on Monday during a stakeholders’ meeting at Kabale High Court in Kabale District, where he inaugurated the Court of Appeal sessions to hear 25 criminal appeal cases.
Justice Buteera stressed the effectiveness of the traditional African method of dispute resolution at the community level, involving elders. He noted that this approach often results in greater satisfaction for the parties involved, in contrast to the formal legal system, which tends to focus on a winner-takes-all outcome and can be biased towards the state.
He proposed that quickly resolving cases to the satisfaction of all parties with the involvement of religious and local leaders would be beneficial. For instance, in land disputes, local leaders could help establish boundary markers. Justice Buteera advocated for resolving matters in this traditional African way.
Kabale Chief Magistrate, Derrick Byamugisha, reported that the Kabale circuit currently has 1,489 pending cases.
