URN.Michael Ogweng, the Probation, and Social Welfare Kitgum District says that one of the main reasons why many victims take their cases to court is because they cannot afford the costs associated with the justice process.
Victims of Gender-Based Violence in Kitgum are not accessing justice due to the high costs associated with the process.
This is demonstrated by the number of cases reported to staff at the grassroots in comparison with the cases that reach the Resident State Attorney.
For instance, cases of defilement registered within the community show that from January 2021 to June 2022, the district registered 438, but only 289 took the matter to the court. While of the 360 cases of GBV reported during the same period, only 89 reached the judgment stage.
Speaking on Friday during the Open Court Day in Kitgum on Friday, Michael Ogweng, the Probation, and Social Welfare Kitgum District argued that one of the main reasons why many victims take their cases to court is because they cannot afford the costs associated with the justice process.
Ogweng cites that all the police officers at the sub-county levels have motorcycles, but no budget for fuel. This he says explains why the victims of defilement have to give the police money for fuel and other expenses that come with apprehending and taking the suspect to court.
Ogweng revealed that the police have a poor attitude to work and their request for assistance in terms of fuel from victims is sometimes unreasonably high, in comparison with the distance to be covered.
Because of the costs associated with the justice process, Ogweng said many parents now opt to negotiate with the perpetrators of crime and settle matters out of court.
This practice, he said is also making many commit the same offense many times, and encourages others to commit the same crime.
Alex Ajiji, the resident judge of Gulu High Court Circuit noted with concern the number of cases that don’t reach the judgment stage. Ajiji said negotiating with suspects caused impunity and advised the community against the practice.
He also appealed to the legal aid service providers to continue providing services to the grassroots so that the corrupt tendencies of smothering cases from the community is eliminated.
Dr. Sylvia Mukasa Namubiru, the CEO of Legal Aid Service Providers’ Network- LASPNET, noted that legal aid services remain a dream to many victims of crimes, due to the costs, adding that many are concentrated in urban and peri-urban areas.
A 2016 study by Hiil Justice Needs showed that 80 percent of Ugandans are too poor or vulnerable to afford the services of a private advocate.
Dr. Namubiru said that the problem is compounded by the absence of a comprehensive legal aid scheme to enable access to justice for the poor vulnerable and marginalized. She argued that if the government should set aside resources as a matter of priority to establish a state-funded legal aid system, it will assist the poor and vulnerable.
Dr. Namubiru noted that the probono legal aid service providers in the country are very few and cannot ably represent the whole country, and are also donor-funded, implying that if there is no funding, they cannot do much.
Dr. Namubiru encouraged the public to demand a state-funded legal aid system and to tell them that the right to a fair and speedy trial, and access to justice is a human right that should come by virtue of one being a person, not a humanitarian need.
The open court day was held in Kitgum Public Primary School Grounds under the theme: Elimination of Gender-Based Violence against Women and Girls, including Sexual and Gender-based Violence and harmful Practices in Uganda.
The event was aimed at creating awareness of the law and procedures and enabling the legal aid service providers to give on-spot legal advice and counseling to GBV survivors and clients with other legal problems.
Kitgum was chosen among other districts such as Kasese, Kyegegwa, Arua, and Amudat for the open court day session because of the high cases of GBV reported in the past year.
According to the 2021 Annual Police Crimes report, Kitgum was one of the districts that recorded high cases of domestic violence in Aswa Region.
