Lawyers under the Greater Masaka Lawyers Association have vowed to continue their boycott of court proceedings as their sit-down strike over a deepening judicial staffing crisis and massive case backlog enters its seventh day.
The lawyers accuse the judiciary of turning a deaf ear to repeated demands to deploy more judicial officers in the Masaka High Court Circuit, which serves over two million people in the 10 districts and islands of Masaka District, Masaka City, Kalangala, Rakai, Kyotera, Sembabule, Bukomansimbi, Lwengo, Kalungu, Lyantonde, and Mpigi.
The Chairperson of the Greater Masaka Bar – ULS Chapter, Mr Alexander Lule, speaking at the weekly Radical New Bar press briefing on Thursday, June 19, said the continued deployment of only one High Court judge to a circuit handling more than 4,600 cases is “an institutional abandonment” and “an insult to the people of Masaka.”
“We were promised at least two judges and an additional registrar, but those promises have never materialised. Our clients continue to suffer delayed justice. We, the lawyers, have downed our tools because we cannot keep pretending to serve a broken system,” Adv Lule told the media at ULS House in Kampala.
“We have raised our concerns to the Principal Judge through stakeholder meetings. Promises were made, but they remain unfulfilled,” he added.
The strike, which began on Friday, June 13, has seen courts in Masaka operate without lawyer participation, forcing litigants to return home unheard. The lawyers insist that their demands are not new; they have been raised before the Principal Judge, Deputy Chief Justice, and Judicial Service Commission in previous engagements, all without action.
Lule further expressed particular concern for vulnerable populations, especially children, pointing out the glaring absence of a juvenile remand home in the entire Greater Masaka region, which forces minors to be transported in poor conditions to distant facilities in Kampala. “This system is failing not just adults, but children and their families as well. The situation is dire,” he cried.
Speaking on behalf of Uganda Law Society President Isaac Ssemakadde, Mr Elison Karuhanga described Masaka’s court system as no longer just congested, but “a burial ground for justice.”
“There is only one judge handling over 4,290 active cases. If you factor in court holidays and weekends, it would take that judge over 22 years to clear the backlog. This isn’t just justice delayed—it’s justice denied and buried alive,” Karuhanga wrote in an open letter that also featured in Wednesday’s DailyMonitor newspaper edition.
The Senior Counsel invoked Article 142 of the Constitution, which gives the President authority to appoint temporary judges to handle case overflow. He called for the urgent activation of this clause, describing it as the only viable short-term fix.
Judicial Service Commission Responds
The Acting Registrar of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Mr Samuel Mugisa, in a calm but firm response to the striking lawyers, said the Commission had not received any formal petition or communication from the Masaka Bar about their grievances prior to the strike.
“I consulted internally and confirmed the JSC was never served with the petition. If we are to help, we must first be formally engaged. Posting resolutions on social media or in the press doesn’t substitute official communication,” Mugisa said.
While acknowledging the judicial staffing crisis, the JSC Registrar discouraged what he termed “extreme measures,” urging lawyers to explore structured dialogue and practical solutions.
“If I were in your shoes, I would’ve already held discussions on arbitration, especially for commercial disputes. We must ask ourselves, what happens if you don’t get more judges? Do we paralyse justice indefinitely?” he posed.
Mr Mugisa also faulted the legal fraternity for being slow in adopting alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms like mediation and arbitration, arguing that part of the court congestion stems from lawyers themselves.
“Some of these matters could be resolved without litigation. Let’s not perpetuate an adversarial culture that clogs the system. The answer lies in constructive engagement, not disengagement,” he said.
Despite the judiciary’s call for calm, the lawyers insist they will not return to court until their demands are met. They accuse the Judiciary of reneging on staffing promises made during previous judicial open days, including a pledge to deploy two full-time judges to Masaka and one to Rakai following the 2023 increase in the number of High Court judges from 83 to 108.
The lawyers also fault the Uganda Judicial Officers Association (UJOA) and the Judicial Service Commission for remaining silent as legal officers in Masaka are overwhelmed. “This isn’t about Masaka alone. It is a reflection of the brokenness across the country. We are simply leading the way,” Mr Lule emphasized.
The boycott, now in its seventh day and expected to carry on, has now affected hundreds of civil, land, commercial, and criminal cases, with both adult and juvenile litigants left in limbo.
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