President Yoweri Museveni has pledged to provide financial support to the judiciary towards rejuvenating the traditional methods of dispute resolution as opposed to the colonial way of litigation.
The President’s promise was contained in a message delivered by Vice President, Jessica Alupo while officiating at a two-day Africa Chief Justices’ summit on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Kampala on Tuesday.
Museveni said the African Traditional way of resolving conflicts is cheaper, and timely and leaves warring parties contented as opposed to prolonged processes.
Some studies have found that the customary justice system offers a big advantage over the state judicial system in terms of physical access and costs.
According to the President, there is a need to formalize Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanisms to clear case -backlog.
On his part, Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo noted that only five percent of Ugandans can access the Court adding it is high time that African courts embrace Alternative Dispute Resolution for its overwhelming benefits including promoting communal peace.
He has given an example of the war-torn Northern Uganda where guns stopped 18 years ago but the formal justice system has done nothing to bring justice and healing to the society which up to date seeks reconciliation for the atrocities mounted against them by the LRA.
The Chief Justice further listed a number of cases including assault, adultery, and theft which are effectively mediated by the African Traditional mechanisms whereas capital offences such as murder are solved through payment of cattle.
Owiny-Dollo revealed that he hopes the summit of chief justices held under the theme” Re-engineering Alternative Dispute Resolution on the African Continent ” will provide insights into the long-awaited journey of reclaiming African Dispute Resolution mechanisms.
The two-day summit has attracted Chief Justices from various countries among others, Uganda, Botswana, Eswatini, Tanzania, Malawi, and South Sudan are undergoing a two-day summit on Alternative Dispute Resolution at the Mestil hotel in Kampala.
The Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Norbert Mao has since indicated that the Government has since finalized a policy to regulate governance of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the country.
Eleven Ugandan officials most of whom are Judicial Officers yesterday graduated in this field with Masters and Bachelor’s Degrees in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University in California.
These Graduates who included Mao, Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo, Supreme Court Justice Mike Chibita, High Court Judge Paul Gadenya, and Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire among others will in turn formally teach others about the professional way of handling cases that require ADR mechanisms.
These issues will now all be managed under the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ministry once the policy has been approved.
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