President Yoweri Museveni has revealed that government does not intend to recruit more judicial officers due to lack of resources to facilitate them in the execution of their duties.
Museveni’s remarks followed Chief Justice Bart Katureebe’s a point of concern that, there is a lot of case backlog which he said was due to under staffing, poor pay and lack of finance to facilitate all the activities of the judiciary.
Katureebe said he continues to receive reports of corruption at different levels, adding that what remains true is that corruption in whatever form undermines the efficiency of the judiciary.
“When you talk about under staffing, you are not the only ones. Look at our police, if we choose to increase the man power in all sectors, we shall have no money to do other things and in the end, we shall have a crisis,” Museveni said during Judicial officers conference held at Serena hotel.
Museveni said, according to the world policing standards, Ugandans should have one policeman for every 500 peopl, he however, said Uganda with the population of over 40 million people, the country needs a police force of 8000 but currently has only have 430.
“I support the idea of enhancing salaries of judicial officers because their role in society is crucial. We shall do it in tandem with the improvement of the economy. You cannot convict me that I only pay salaries and leave roads, electricity and other services, I can’t agree because it is suicide. We should work according to the need of society as opposed to one who is near the pond,” he said.
Under the theme ‘Integrity and Accountability’, judiciary has also launched electronic payment and toll free customer feedback numbers, a strategy aimed at tackling various challenges and softening the operations within the judiciary.
The toll free numbers are 0800111900 and 0417892900, under this strategy, toll free lines are intended to improve on the Judiciary’s accountability through consistent provision of accurate information.
With the e-payment system, judiciary will partner with Uganda Revenue Authority, pay way machines, mobile money, and commercial banks to pay court fees.