KAMPALA – The Electricity Disputes Tribunal (EDT) has been fully constituted following the appointment of Ms. Sylvia Cheptoris as a substantive Registrar after a year of waiting.
The tribunal’s work has been on a standstill for almost a whole year operating without a substantive Registrar who is mandated to manage the administrative affairs.
The Chief Registrar of Courts Mr Tom Chemutai handed the instruments of power to Ms Cheptoris at the High Court in Kampala on 12 August.
The EDT was established by the Electricity Act in 1999 after the liberalization of the power sector to hear and determine electricity-related complaints.
Mr. Charles Okoth Owor, the chairperson of the Tribunal welcomed the move to have a fully constituted EDT insisting that a growing economy generates a myriad of business disputes, which may require such specialized tribunals.
“To facilitate a fast and efficient resolution of industry-related disputes, we need such tribunals. Unresolved disputes lead to long delays in growth as business comes to a standstill awaiting justice”, said Mr Owor.
Meanwhile, Ms. Cheptoris who previously worked in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs General’s office as a State Attorney pledged to ensure the backlog of complaints that had been filed are fast-tracked to be heard and disposed of.
“My first assignment is to see that all the complaints that have been failed are heard and judgments made,” Ms Cheptoris stressed.
Having worked as a State Attorney for over 10 years, Ms Cheptoris comes on board with the desired experience as an administrator and lawyer by training.
She is also the latest woman to join the Energy Sector in a pivotal role that will see her star go up if she performs as expected.
The EDT is mandated to hear and determine all electricity-related disputes that are referred to it except criminal cases. The EDT has all powers of the High Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction.
Additional Information:
Who is Ms Sylvia Cheptoris
Ms. Sylvia Cheptoris, 38, is an experienced counsel with 10 years’ experience in the legal profession as a state attorney. Her first deployment was in the private sector where she worked with Mungoma Mabonga & Co Advocates in 2008 before joining the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs where she served up to date.
Her biggest achievement was registered in the East African Court of Justice at Arusha, Tanzania where she represented the Attorney General of Uganda in several landmark cases that she successfully argued and defended the Government of Uganda.
