The Resident Judge of the Hoima High Court Circuit, Justice Vincent Opyene, has revealed that the hearing and judgment of civil cases have stalled due to ongoing High Court criminal sessions.
Justice Opyene made the remarks on Thursday, March 12, during a Bar-Bench meeting, where judicial officers and advocates discussed the court’s performance and ways to improve case management.
However, the judge assured members that changes were underway to address the situation. He announced that hearings would strictly commence at 9:00am and warned that advocates who fail to communicate their absence in advance risk being penalized with costs for the day. Counsel appearing on watching briefs were also directed to attend court with instructions to proceed if necessary.
Justice Opyene reaffirmed the Judiciary’s commitment to reducing case backlog and outlined several strategies aimed at improving case disposal at the Hoima High Court.
Among the measures, he said the court would begin hearing civil cases that have been pending for more than 10 years.
He also emphasized increased mediation of cases, noting that the Judiciary plans to recognize lawyers, law firms and stakeholders who actively support mediation through certificates of appreciation.
Other strategies include hearing about 20 bail applications per month, conducting criminal case hearings every other afternoon, and encouraging plea bargaining to speed up the disposal of criminal cases.
The judge urged advocates to maintain professionalism and cautioned them against soliciting money from clients in the name of judicial officers. He also warned lawyers to be wary of court brokers, saying their activities tarnish the image of legal practitioners, state attorneys and judicial officers.
Justice Opyene commended members of the bar for embracing innovations such as online hearings and electronic submission of documents through the Hoima High Court email system.
During the meeting, the court’s Assistant Registrar, Emmanuel Bamwiite, presented an update on case disposal at the Hoima High Court between March 12, 2025 and March 28, 2026 under Justice Opyene’s leadership.
According to Bamwiite, the court concluded 124 land cases, 61 civil cases, 70 family matters involving grants of probate and letters of administration, 189 plea bargain cases, four mediation cases handled by the judge, and 347 criminal case files.
He thanked lawyers who have been serving on state brief for representing accused persons in capital offences and announced that registration for advocates interested in state brief work was ongoing at his office.
Isaac Karekona from the Attorney General’s Chambers also informed the meeting that he currently heads the Attorney General’s office in Hoima and is ready to receive service for cases where the Attorney General is a party.
He proposed a joint meeting between the court and lawyers from the Attorney General’s Chambers to discuss mediation and other administrative matters.
Meanwhile, the Chief Magistrate of Hoima, George Kunihira, revealed that he is currently caretaking Buliisa Chief Magistrate’s Court, while Magistrate Juliana Kimono is overseeing Buliisa Magistrate’s Court.
Kunihira noted that advocates have begun scheduling High Court matters while ensuring they still attend to cases in lower courts where they have instructions.
He advised lawyers handling criminal matters to file notices of instructions for bail applications or defence of accused persons to avoid unnecessary adjournments.
During the discussions, advocates raised concerns over congestion at Hoima Prison and proposed strategies such as increased bail grants and plea bargaining to ease overcrowding.
They also suggested that judicial officers and state attorneys conduct a visit to the prison after lockdown to assess the situation firsthand.
Some lawyers also complained about delays in starting court sessions on criminal hearing days and requested that their cases be called earlier because many of them handle matters in other courts and chambers.
Despite these concerns, the advocates commended Justice Opyene for ensuring prompt start of hearings at 9:00am, both for online and physical sessions.
They also praised the registry staff at the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Hoima for improving the receipt and filing of court pleadings for the various magistrates’ chambers.
