By Aggrey Twesigye
Ntungamo District is grappling with a growing backlog of murder cases, with judicial officials blaming poor case follow-up and failure by witnesses to appear in court.
During a criminal session of the High Court of Uganda sitting in Ntungamo, Resident Judge Lawrence Tweyanze Karikwitsya said many complainants do not actively pursue cases, slowing down justice.
According to Deputy Registrar Grace Atwongyire from the Mbarara High Court Circuit, the registry is overwhelmed with 4,659 cases, including 1,436 criminal matters over 700 originating from Ntungamo.
Justice Tweyanze urged the public to adopt the Electronic Court Case Management System to reduce delays and corruption, and encouraged plea bargaining to speed up case disposal.
However, Chief Administrative Officer Kiiza Fedelis linked the backlog to the district’s large population and rising crime levels.
The ongoing session, running until mid-June, is handling 50 serious cases, including murder, aggravated defilement, rape, robbery, and kidnapping some dating back to 2012.
