KAMPALA, Uganda — Lawmakers have renewed focus on the persistent case backlog, urging government to allocate Shs8 billion for the construction of regional offices for the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, a move they say will ease case congestion and expand access to justice across the country.
This was contained in the report of the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the sector’s Ministerial Policy Statement and budget estimates for financial year 2026/2027 presented by Deputy Chairperson Hon. John Teira during plenary sitting on Thursday, 16 April 2026.
The committee’s findings indicated that the Ministry of Justice continues to face challenges in delivery of justice due to inadequate infrastructure and limited tools.
“With only seven regional offices serving an average of 25 districts each, workloads and case backlogs remain high, and access to justice especially for vulnerable groups such as orphans and widows is constrained by long travel distances of up to 400 kilometers,” read the report in part.
Teira pointed out that whereas five regional offices were commissioned in 2025/2026 in Iganga, Masaka, Hoima, Kabale and Lira, they are operating in rented spaces, raising the need for a permanent regional office.
“There is need to construct a permanent regional office over the five-year period and this would require at least Shs8 billion,” said Teira.
The committee also recommended the recruitment of more state attorneys under the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (ODPP) to reduce the workload and improve perusal of case files, saying that staffing stands at 759 against the required 1,734.
“The committee finds this requirement critical and recommends an additional Shs20 billion instead of the Shs10 billion requested to be provided to the ODPP during financial year 2026/2027 to facilitate recruitment of staff to close the prosecutor-to-case ratio and increase the scope of criminal prosecution services across the country,” read the report in part.
Additionally, the committee made a case for allocation of Shs8 billion for operationalisation of ODPP offices in 32 districts.
“The ODPP is not present in 32 districts and more than 100 outer courts with Grade I magistrates and this has affected delivery of prosecution services,” the report read in part.
To fasten the adjudication processes and reduce person-to-person interactions, hence mitigating corruption, the committee urged government to provide Shs13.7 billion to enable the rollout of the Electronic Court Case Management System.
Hon. Isaac Otimigiw, NRM, Padyere County, welcomed the recommendation to construct regional offices for the Justice Ministry, saying that this will ensure that access to justice is not delayed.
“Underfunding of most of the areas in the judiciary is causing backlog in cases — you find that a case is delayed because there is no money to transport witnesses. As a result we have people in prison for over two years because of simple logistical issues and this erodes trust in the judiciary,” said Otimigiw.
Ntoroko County MP, Hon. Ibanda Rwemulikya, on the other hand agreed with the committee’s recommendation to recruit more state attorneys, saying that the elderly and poor cannot access judicial services because they cannot travel long distances.
“In Ntoroko, we do not have any state attorney, you have to travel to Bundibugyo and some people cannot travel. I also thank the committee for recommending construction of regional offices,” he said.
Hon. Joseph Ssewungu, NUP, Kalungu West County, equally argued that adequate staffing of state attorneys will ensure increased access to justice, thereby reducing the budget on feeding prisoners.
Hon. Ibrahim Ssemujju, FDC, Kira Municipality, however called on the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to audit the independence of the judiciary and the quality of judgments.
“While we are advocating for more funds, we should be concerned with ensuring the judiciary is being more accountable, they should stop being partisan. The committee should not only be concerned with quantitative performance of the judiciary but also with quality, not just to clear backlogs,” said Ssemujju.
