ENTEBBE –A total of 54 trafficked Ugandans died abroad, an officer in charge of human trafficking at Entebbe International Airport disclosed Friday.
The D/IP James Barya said most of those who died abroad were women and young men illegally taken out of the country with promises of getting well-paying jobs.
Briefing the Deputy Chief Justice, Richard Buteera about his department and its operations, Barya also disclosed that 1253 victims were intercepted in the process of illegal travelling out of the country.
Justice Buteera was presiding over Entebbe Chief Magistrate Court Open Day – the period when court invites its users and members of the public for an interaction – regarding its operations.
Different stakeholders in government service and civil society had stalls which Justice Buteera and members of the public inspected to acquaint themselves with various activities.
The officer revealed that 167 cases were recorded out of which 60 were investigated. Seventeen cases were taken to court, of which 16 ended in convictions and one case was still pending. He said 83 cases were shelved. The officer said most of the time the victims were unwilling to provide information, which frustrates progress of the cases.
Another D/IP Maxon Katuramu – the In-charge of anti-drug trafficking reported that 2022 saw 17 cases recorded of individuals trafficking illegal drugs out of or via Uganda and 13 of these pleaded guilty. Three are still pending in court.
In his speech Justice Buteera criticised the practice of judicial officers harassing and mistreating court users, urging them to stop the practice in order to make courts user-friendly. Some of them, he observed meted harsh punishments unnecessarily while others lacked common courtesy and public relations.
Chief Magistrate, Stella Maris Amabilis had earlier on complained that the Entebbe station had limited office and court space, forcing two of the four magistrates to conduct court hearings from their chambers – a situation Justice Buteera promised would be handled.
Charles Mukalazi – the LCIII chairperson of Bussi Island complained of residents moving long distances to Entebbe to get justice, to which Justice Buteera assured the leaders that a magistrate grade one had already been appointed to serve the area.
The local government had already provided land for construction of court premises, which Justice Butreera urged other local governments to emulate to enable the judicial department adequately serve them. He said Entebbe was being considered for setting up of a High Court.
Some of the court users complained of their cases being disposed of without their knowledge to which the Deputy Chief Justice emphasised those judicial officers must always make the next hearing date clear to the litigants.
He said the judiciary would further strengthen inspection to address delays and inefficiencies. Many of the complaints pertained to land disputes.
To address case backlog, Buteera said they should always try the alternative dispute resolution before going for lengthy litigation.
Other solutions proposed included taking claims below ten million shillings to the Small Claims Court and those on criminal charges to be encouraged to bargain with the state for smaller sentences in exchange for pleading guilty. A moot court was acted to show the public how plea bargain works in practice.
He urged magistrates to prioritise cases on the basis of first come first serve while always giving consideration to vulnerable groups like children, the disabled, elderly, sick and widows.
Present at the function was Justices Alex Mackay Ajiji, deputy head of the High Court Criminal Division and Senior Presidential Advisor Amos Ngoloobe who is also retired deputy director of criminal prosecutions. Entebbe Chief Magistrate Court last held the event in 2018.
