Chief Justice Calls for Increased Funding to Tackle Case Backlog, Enhance Access to Justice
The Chief Justice, Justice Dr Flavian Zeija, has called on Parliament to support increased funding for the Judiciary to tackle case backlog, recruit more Judicial Officers and expand access to justice across the country.
The Chief Justice made the call during a meeting between the Judiciary’s Top Management and Parliament’s Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs at the Supreme Court Building Conference Hall in Kampala today.
Justice Zeija told the Committee that the Judiciary requested UGX633.977 billion for FY2026/27 but received UGX479.325 billion, leaving a shortfall of UGX154.652 billion.
“The budget is insufficient to match the required priorities,” he said, citing case backlog reduction, locus visits in land matters, ADR and mediation, state briefs, court infrastructure, recruitment and automation among the areas requiring additional funding.
The Chief Justice said the courts closed FY2025/26 with 207,839 pending cases, of which 53,847 were backlog cases, representing 25.91 per cent of the caseload.
He noted that pending commercial, civil, land and family cases have a combined value exceeding UGX25 trillion, warning that prolonged disputes lock resources out of productive economic activity. “The value of pending cases of over UGX25 trillion represents resources locked up in disputes, resources that could otherwise be invested in the economy,” he said.
Justice Zeija further said inadequate funding has affected the operationalisation of High Court Circuits in Bugiri, Pallisa, Moyo, Nebbi, Ntungamo and Ibanda, largely because there are insufficient Judicial Officers to deploy.
He also highlighted the need to adequately resource the Anti-Corruption Division as Government intensifies the fight against corruption and called for greater investment in mediation.
“When we get additional funding, mediation should take centre stage,” he said.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Hon. John Teira, MP for Bugabula North, acknowledged the Judiciary’s interventions to reduce case backlog and pledged the Committee’s continued support in advocating for increased funding.
The Committee raised concerns about the Inspectorate of Courts, staffing and remuneration, bail, human rights, court security, housing, technology, promotion and transfer of Judicial Officers, media access to court proceedings and decentralisation of High Court services. Members also requested the establishment of a High Court Circuit in Sebei.
Responding to the concerns, the Chief Justice said the Judiciary plans to decentralise the Inspectorate of Courts to the regions. He noted that the Judiciary establishing a specialised Natural Resources, Energy, Environment and Infrastructure Division of the High Court at Makindye to handle emerging disputes in those sectors.
The Deputy Chief Justice, Justice Moses Kazibwe Kawumi, called for a government-funded legal aid framework and greater use of paralegals to improve access to justice for people unable to afford lawyers. He also urged Government to adequately resource all institutions in the justice chain.
The Principal Judge, Lady Justice Jane Frances Abodo, highlighted progress in Alternative Justice Systems and mediation, noting that AJS had been rolled out in the Acholi sub-region and Lira, with expansion planned for Karamoja, Kapchorwa and Buganda.
She also called for the consolidation of ADR policies into a comprehensive legal framework and stronger institutional responses to misinformation about the Judiciary.
The Chief Registrar, HW Agnes Alum, reported that the Judiciary has commenced digitising advocates’ enrolment records, with plans for a system to manage enrolment and practising certificates and integrate with the Uganda Law Council and other government systems.
The Chief Justice thanked the Committee for its continued support to the Judiciary and called for regular engagement to address funding, legislative and institutional challenges affecting justice delivery.
The meeting was attended by members of the Judiciary Senior Management led by the Under Secretary, Ms Maureen Kasande, Heads of Department, among others.
Posted 1st, September 2026
