KAMPALA – The Judiciary has said it will organise training sessions for their judges on how to use the Electronic Case Management System after several of them said that they are ignorant about its applicability.
The Shs9 billion Electronic Case Management System, which was launched last year, is intended to digitise courts and improve efficiency in case handling.
But during the ongoing Annual Judges Conference, several judges such as Prof Lillian Tibatemwa, Justice Henrietta Wolayo and Patricia Basaza revealed that they lack sufficient knowledge and skills to use the system.
Justice Wolayo revealed that she does not know how one can obtain witness statements and admit evidence using the digital system.
Prof Tibatemwa said they need to dedicate one court room where demonstrations can be held to show them how to use the internet to do execution and payments.
Justice Ezekiel Muhanguzi argued that he knows that the system can’t work in Uganda because of unreliable internet and power.
Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire, the head of the Judiciary’s Information and Communication Technological Committee, promised to look into their concerns.
Chief Justice Bart Katureebe urged judges to embrace the system, arguing that it has been a game-changer in access to justice in other countries such as Rwanda and Lesotho.
Justice Kiryabwire noted that currently some cases are mismanaged during entry in the registry where they are recorded in books badly by clerks before the information is transferred to computers. He explained that because of the voluminous files, which also occupy a lot of space, sometimes it becomes very difficult to access some records.
While launching the system in September last year, Mr Pius Bigirimana, the Judiciary’s Permanent Secretary, said the new system will track the progress of all aspects of a case from the initial filing through disposition and appeal. Mr Bigirimana also said the new system would reduce contact between the litigating public and court staff, a move believed to curb corruption