THE President of the High Court, Johnston Busingye, has challenged judges to promote national development and stability by sticking to their professional independence and impartiality.

Busingye made the call during a meeting with judges and court registrars of the High Courts, from the territorial jurisdiction of Musanze and Rubavu districts.

"Whoever feels unable to handle the responsibilities of administering justice and making properly reasoned judgments, should honourably resign instead of waiting to be pushed out,” Busingye said, urging the jurists to always have confidence in what they do.

He dismissed reports in some sections of the media that the national justice system has not demonstrated independence and impartiality when handling judicial cases.

‘’We do not decide on cases based on the influence exerted by anybody,” he noted. "We do not do our work as a favour to the litigants...it is a constitutional obligation which will contribute to the confidence, security and freedom of the country.’’ 

Busingye pointed out that there are enough indicators - the quality of decisions made, reports from partner institutions, and the judges’ behaviour, which prove the total independence of the judiciary.

Judges were urged to cooperate with other administrative organs in order to complete the backlog of cases, and speed up the trials, especially those related to land disputes.

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