The Principal Judge Dr Flavian Zeija has asked Justice, Law and Order Institutions to prioritize cases of Sexual and Gender Based Violence and have such matters heard expeditiously.
The institutions are: The directorate of Public Prosecutions- DPP, Uganda Prisons Services, Uganda Police Force, Uganda Law Society and United Nations Population Fund Activities UNFPA.
Dr.Zeija made the remarks while officiating at a High-Level Meeting with the Justice Law and Order institutions in Kampala today which was aimed at gathering views on the successful implementation of Phase Five of the Sexual and Gender Based Violence session which is supposed to start next week in various High Court Circuits and Chief Magistrates Courts.
The Judiciary started hearing such cases in sessions annually starting in 2018 which was phase one and phase four in 2021
The Police indicated that in the year 2021 alone, there were 14,570 defilement cases and 1,456 rape cases reported. Overall, sex-related offences reported were 16, 373.
But the Principal Judge says that for this particular phase they are going to conduct 14 sessions but only five of these will be in this financial quarter due to funding constraintsDr.Zeija on SGBV Funds….
Asked how much funds are required, Zeija however did not have exact figures offhead. END.