Busingye challenges judges on equality

MUSANZE – The president of the High Court, Johnston Busingye has challenged the local judicial officers to translate the action plans and performance contracts set by the national judiciary into tangible outcomes. Busingye said this yesterday during an assessment meeting held with judges and judicial staff from the Northern Province. “How do we deliver this service to the citizens in this country?” he asked. “We owe the people a service and this requires the principle of justice for all, equality before the law.’’ Busingye asked the judicial administrators to assess whether the institution has reached the standards required to promote justice equitably. “The surest way to destroy the social fabric of the judiciary, is by treating people differently before the law,’’ Busingye said. He added that a true justice system should be seen as one of the key boosters of a good investment climate in any country since investors are assured of upholding justice within contracts and agreements reached between them and other parties. In his presentation, the president of the Musanze High Court, JMV Hitimana, said that a special team has been instituted to handle over 700 backlog cases that have piled up since 2007. He said that one of the biggest challenges facing the local judicial system is lack of enough judges and the registrars to deal with a big number of cases brought before the courts. Ends