For some inmates at Kitgum Central Prison, appearing on a court list has become a cycle of waiting, adjournments and uncertainty, with several saying they have spent years on remand without knowing when their cases will be concluded. The inmates have appealed to the judiciary to expedite their cases, saying repeated adjournments, unavailable files and the absence of judicial officers have left suspects in prolonged detention.
The concerns were raised on Friday during an interaction between the inmates, Kitgum Chief Magistrate Robert Ekirita and other stakeholders. Several murder suspects said they had repeatedly been listed to appear in court only for their cases to be postponed or disrupted by other court commitments.
Joseph Oyet, a murder suspect, asked the Chief Magistrate to ensure that lawyers regularly meet inmates and that court adjournments are minimised. “Please, complete a court list before writing another one. For instance, I have been going to court, but now I have lost my court date,” Oyet said.
Jovan Aloi, who is on remand on allegations of murder, said his case has been repeatedly delayed since he was first placed on the court list in 2025. Aloi said proceedings were interrupted after suspects who accepted plea bargains were handled, while another delay followed the death of the judge’s father.
He said when his case resumed in July this year, he was scheduled to return on September 17, only to be informed that the judge had been assigned to handle election petitions. “We ask the judge to complete our cases. I can’t be appearing on every court list, and my case is not concluded,” Aloi said.
Aloi said he has only one remaining witness and asked the court to consider dismissing his case if the prosecution is unable to produce additional witnesses. He also appealed for another judge to be assigned to Kitgum to handle full trials while the resident judge deals with plea bargains and other matters.
For Walter Oryem, who was arrested in 2019 alongside six other people, the delay has meant remaining in prison long after his co-accused were released. “I am the A1, and I am not being called to court. I asked the OC to take me to court, and he said I should wait. I am here overthinking and distressed,” Oryem said.
Oryem said he had been transferred to Gulu Prison three times and returned to Kitgum this year, but his case had still not been concluded. Prossy Alimocan, who was arrested on January 21, 2023, on allegations of murder, said her co-accused was convicted on May 30, 2023, while she has remained on remand.
“Since then, I have not been court-listed or appeared in court, and I have not seen or heard from my complainant. I don’t know what I am serving here. Please take me to court so that I know if I have a chance at getting justice,” Alimocan said. Robinson Ocan, another murder suspect, said he had spent four years and seven months on remand. He was committed to the High Court in May 2025 after spending about three years on remand.
Ocan said he had been committed to the High Court three times this year and was recently told that his file was unavailable when he reported for court. “The last time we went to court, we were told we have no file. Who keeps those files?” Ocan asked. He also said the complainant in his case had not appeared in court since his arrest.
The inmates also raised concerns about conditions inside the prison, including overcrowding and limited access to medical care. Bernard Ojara Nyeripar, a murder suspect, said overcrowding has made the cells excessively hot, worsening pain from a skull fracture he sustained in an accident. Francis Okello said his cell was too small and uncomfortable, particularly at night.
Brian Okello said he had difficulty breathing because of a broken rib sustained during his arrest. He also said he had a fracture in his left arm but was not receiving treatment. Ocan called for the prison health centre to be upgraded to a Health Centre III and supplied with more medicines. “Since this is now a main prison, it has to be upgraded so that the medical supplies we get are also increased,” Ocan said.
Chief Magistrate Ekirita acknowledged the inmates’ concerns and pledged to work with relevant stakeholders to advocate for their welfare. He explained that once a suspect is committed to the High Court, the case file is forwarded to the State Attorney and subsequently to the State Attorney’s superiors in Gulu.
Ekirita attributed some of the recent delays to the ongoing election petitions, saying the resident judge assigned to Kitgum matters is currently handling election-related cases in Mukono. He said inmates whose cases had been scheduled for late August and early September would have to wait for new hearing dates because the judge was away on election petition work.
The election petition hearings are expected to continue until November, but Ekirita said he would follow up with the State Attorney in Gulu on the inmates’ case files. Meanwhile, Robert Oguttu, Officer in Charge of Kitgum Government Prison, said overcrowding remains a major challenge, particularly in the two male cells.
He said each cell currently holds about 115 inmates against a recommended capacity of 75. Oguttu said a new dormitory under construction is expected to be completed in November and will help ease congestion, although the pressure could persist because the prison continues to receive new inmates.
“At the end of August, we received 97 new inmates, and we expect more because the level of criminality keeps rising,” Oguttu said. Kitgum Central Prison currently holds 348 inmates, including 239 male convicts, 76 male remand inmates, 22 female convicts and 12 female remand inmates. The prison also has one lodger and three babies-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
