By KT Reporter
The High Court in Lira is grappling with a surge in cases of Gender-Based violence (GBV) and land related crimes.
Court records indicates that from last financial year’s third quarter, 2,509 cases are pending before magistrates’ courts across the Lira Region while 691 have been committed pending trial before the high court. A significant portion of these cases comprised of Gender Violence and land related crimes.
Speaking at a community meeting -baraza- organized by the Office of Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Lira, Margret Apiny, the Lira Resident Judge, attributed the surge in such cases to lack of trust within the community.She said people should learn to dialogue to iron out issues within themselves to reduce on the number of cases reported to court.
Held under the theme: “Tackling Gender-Based Violence, Land Crime, and Refugee Protection,” the baraza was aimed at gathering community feedback on court operations and address challenges in handling GBV and land disputes.
Jonathan Okello, the Lira Chief State Attorney attributed to backlog to shortage of attorneys in Lango sub-region.
This challenges were acknowledged by George William Byansi, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions who explained that case backlogs is due to lack of public understanding of DPP operations. He noted that many people struggle to navigate the process once cases are referred to the DPP.
Meanwhile RCM Okello Orik, the Lira District Chairperson who acknowledged the fact the land disputes and other land related crimes are common in Lango, criticized the court for issuing rulings without thorough fact-finding, particularly in land disputes, which he said erodes public trust.
He called for immediate reforms, including on-site assessments for disputed land before a ruling is passed.
“The poor are crying and I know by the God I believe, whomI follow, will judge you people if you don’t give the poor people due diligence,” he added.
For her part, Sarah Awor Angweri, the Workers’ Female Representative to Lira City Council, proposed building a rehabilitation center for child offenders instead of a remand home, arguing it would better support vulnerable persons and children.
She was responding to a request by Lira Mayor Sam Atul who wanted a remand home for children built to address the challenge of detention of minors.
Atul had said “Any of the local government in the region is willing to offer land. As Lira City we are just waiting for the opportunity if the need to have the land to build such a center is brought then we should be able to do that.”
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