Citizens urged to lodge complaints against judiciary

The general public in Uganda has been urged to lodge complaints against judicial officers with the Inspector of Courts during the judiciary’s second national court open day today, reports the Daily Monitor. Newly-appointed Principal Judge Jane Frances Abodo explained that the public shouldn’t be silent if they have any issues with judicial officers as they seek justice. She said feedback from the public will, among others, also help improve operations of courts countrywide. During the first national court open day last year, the Principal Judge said some of the complaints that were raised by the public against the judicial officers included perceived bias, access to justice and accountability. ‘As the judiciary, we shouldn’t just claim to be accountable, but people actually see the accountability, and we are trying to demonstrate that,’ Abodo said. Referring to last year’s complaints, Acting Chief Registrar Pamela Ocaya Lamunu said they listed perceived corruption, perceived bias, delayed disposal of cases and lost records of proceedings, among others.