By Our Team
The judiciary system has been asked to handle land related disputes with conscience and speed because letting a land case take longer and biases may breed compromise.
This request was made by the senior presidential advisor on general duties Mrs Phiona Barungi during a meeting with the chief registrar of the Uganda judicial commission Sarah Langa Siu and Wakiso District judicial staff which sat at Nabweru court premises last week. The meeting was also attended by the Deputy registrar Wakiso High court , Faisal Mulalira Umar , RPC Kampala South SSP Moses Nanoka and others
She said such a backlog can bring about delays in dispatching justice but emphasized that they will work within their framework to amicably settle land cases.
The meeting was aimed at streamlining general land complaints and courts handling of land issues in the Wakiso district. Wakiso is the most affected district by land disputes in the country.
Mrs Barungi had been identified as a key player in the land management and Registration chain and it aims at bringing together all stakeholders in the sector to share our strengths align our purposes and other attendant concerns.
She presented on the nature of land disputes or cases she handles and how the High Court Circuit can help to bridge the land Justice needs in the areas they strive to deliver Justice for all .
The judiciary is our last resort when it comes to fighting land injustices so don’t let us down. Whenever law enforcement agencies and officials follow on land issues, they will always need court cooperation. We therefore need to work closely,” said Mrs Barungi
She also reiterated the issue of speed where most land issues take long before court, and in the end, this may lead to compromise, destruction of evidence or changes in some facts of some sort.
However, her worship Langa, thanked Mrs. Barungi for her efforts at fighting land injustices and ensuring that justice is served in the most neutral way, among others.
” I must thank the senior presidential advisor on general duties Mrs Barungi for her efforts to see that land injustices reduce in our country in the most justly way to the extent of engaging us at court level. I assure her and everybody that we shall play our part as courts in this country, ” said Langa.
She, however, said that courts are committed to resolving land wrangles, but sometimes are hindered by police files which may not have all the facts calling for further investigations or they are challenged by the number of cases courts receive at any given time against a small staff of courts officials.
” We are operating with a fewer staff because the population of magistrates and judges is still very low. Some of these matters are managerial. For example, Wakiso district has only two judges who must attend to over 300 land cases, you can imagine” said Langa.