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| Chief Justice Bart Katureebe at the conference |
The Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS)
Annual Report 2014/15, provides information on the performance of the Sector
for Financial Year 2014/15.
The outputs, their indicators and associated
targets, and actions outlined in FY2014/15 sector work plan and budget are used
as the framework for the analysis. Outcomes are highlighted and analyzed. The
performance information in the report is generated from the analysis of the
data from sector submissions which are attached as annexes to this report.
The JLOS report is therefore, a strategic
report, tracking progress and results information in the outcome areas of JLOS
business to enable the sector and development partners as well as other key
stakeholders to assess performance in the implementation of the Sector
Investment Plan (SIP). The progress report is about the totality of the JLOS
resource envelope which includes the SWAp basket fund, GoU recurrent and
development expenditure as well as other multilateral and bilateral project
support that the sector institutions accessed during the FY 2014/15.
We however note that as opposed to the
previous year when the sector received over 57 billion given the generous
support of the JLOS development partners such as Sweden, this year the sector
operated with a serious resource constraint under the SWAp fund with only 50%
of the expected resources. This was partly due to non-release of funds by some
of the JLOS DPG particularly Sweden and Netherlands who have been supporting
the biggest percentage of the budget. It is therefore necessary that any
assessment of our performance should take into consideration this particular
challenge. The non-release of funds by Netherlands was on account of the
enactment of the Anti-homosexuality law.
The report follows the SIPIII structure and
tracks progress against targets set out in the JLOS Monitoring and Evaluation
Plan. We should also note that this is the third report under SIPIII and
therefore tracks the extent to which we have moved given our commitments under
the investment plan.
The report is divided into five chapters.
Chapter One provides an introduction and overview of sector performance,
Chapter two details progress under outcome one, chapter three progress under
outcome two, chapter four progress under outcome three, chapter five, programme
management and chapter six covers
financial performance.
The sector goal under the SIPIII is to
promote the rule of law. This is reflected in the target to increase public
satisfaction with JLOS services from 60% in 2011 according to the JLOS baseline
survey 2012 to 70% by 2016. The sector is also striving to improve public
confidence in the justice system from 26% in 2012 to 44% in 2016 and enhancing
the index of judicial independence from 3.8 to 4 in 2016.
Finally after a two year wait, the Sector has
a substantive Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice. As a sector we believe
that with the sector leadership now fully constituted we are on the road to
takeoff. We have high hopes that we shall now score more
highly in public trust as well as independence of our judicial processes.
Sector institutions were involved in legal
reform and drafting of legislation with many such Bills now before Parliament.
However the increasing enlightenment of society has generated greater debate on
legal and policy issues. This has come with an increased need for consultation
on all laws proposed and has not only increased cost of law reform in money
terms but time as well.
The sector also record breaking recruitments
in crime fighting agencies such as, UPF with 4,906 Probationary Police
Constables and 728 cadets passed out while 3,500 police constables and 500
cadets are training at PTS Kabalye, UPS with 1,250 Prison Warders and
Wardresses admitted and commissioned and the DPP with over 90 state attorneys
recruited.
The sector now has a complete chain of
frontline JLOS service points operating from own buildings in 53.6% of the
districts.
However following poor performance of the sector budget this financial year,
there was stagnation in new construction projects and if funding does not
improve in the coming financial year we are likely to fall behind in the
percentage coverage of districts. This is likely to be further compounded by
the creation of new districts.
JLOS agencies involved in the fight against
crime are commended, for effectively managing to keep the levels of crime low
and enhancing the speed of disposal of criminal cases, arising out of the
enhanced capacity to investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate cases as well as
rehabilitation of inmates. This is exemplified by the high conviction rates,
standing at about 64%, reducing rates of recidivism and increased disposal rate
of cases which now stands at 95.8% if taken as a proportion of cases registered
over the same time period. Our challenge is growth in organized and violent
crime, leading to prolific and high profile murders that have claimed the lives
of innocent Ugandans. In the reporting period, plea bargaining was piloted
targeting persons who were committed for trial in the High Court. This
intervention is commended for reducing overstay on remand for capital offenders
to 10.5 months over the reporting period as well as the reduction in the
committed population and remand prisoners from 56% to 54%.
Arua Remand home is now finally operational,
reducing the burden on the districts in West Nile that had to remand juveniles
in Kampala or Gulu, leading to miscarriage of justice since many such cases
would be dismissed for failure to deliver suspects to court. However given the
investment and the capacity of the remand home, there is need for review of its
operations such that it serves as both a remand home and a rehabilitation
centre for juveniles sentenced to rehabilitation in Kampiringisa.
The sector is on course to eliminate the
bucket system in places of detention with a critical focus on the Prison
Service. With investments made earlier and commitment to fund 40 other such
prison sanitation projects we have now achieved 76%.
The UHRC annual report 2014/15 shows an 11%
reduction in complaints of alleged human rights complaints against the UPF.
This is testimony that continued civic education as well as sensitization of
duty bearers, has positive impact on the deepening of the human rights culture
in the sector.
The Anti-Corruption Court is now fully
operational following the resolution of the Constitutional challenge to its
operations. In the reporting period according to statistics from the Judiciary CAAS,
the number of cases disposed as a proportion of those filed, increased from 45%
in 2013/14 to now 124% in the reporting period.
Arua Remand home is now finally operational,
reducing the burden on the districts in West Nile that had to remand juveniles
in Kampala or Gulu. This is will reduce the resulting miscarriage of justice
since many such cases would previously be dismissed for failure to deliver
suspects to court.
The sector has now taken a leap forward and
rolled out ADR in other focus areas such as family, land and other civil
matters both in Judicial and quasi-judicial institutions. This is critical for
improved delivery of justice.
Improvements have been recorded in financial
management, with growing absorption rates as well as higher fiduciary
discipline. The number of sector institutions returning clean audits in
FY2013/14 grew 7 fold and the SWAP fund also returned a clean audit.
DCIC made significant progress in
implementation of the National ID project, especially the mass enrolment and
issuance of National IDs. Currently out of the over 18 million persons enrolled
over 6 million have already received their National Identity Cards.
The above achievements not withstanding there
is need for massive publicity calling upon those registered to pick up their
national IDs and for the creation of permanent centres where this exercise is
undertaken.
Secondly the sector must address the
challenge arising out of the fact that most JLOS service points save for
policing, are largely urban based and at district headquarters. The sector must
go down to the county and sub-county levels. There is need to fast track the
rationalization of magisterial areas and recruit more Magistrates Grade I to
replace Magistrates Grade II that are being phased out so that a vacuum is not
created by their departure. Such a vacuum may lead to people resorting to
shortcuts such as mob justice to achieve their own mode of justice.
Government is called upon to address the
continued non functionality of LC Courts I and II.
The state of infrastructure and land
ownership in former Local Administration Prisons (LAP) has to some extent
delayed implementation of programmes to improve some of the prison units.
The efforts of the UPF are commended but
there is need to address the continued non-compliance with the 48 hour rule
which features highly among the complaints lodged in the UHRC.
To promote the fight against corruption the
sector must de-concentrate the anti-corruption court to ensure that it is not a
Kampala preserve that increases operational costs of other JLOS institutions
that service the court.
Given the investment and the capacity of the
remand homes, there is need for review of s operations such that they serve as
both a remand home and a rehabilitation centre for juveniles sentenced to
rehabilitation in Kampiringisa.
