Mukono North MP Abdallah Kiwanuka Granted Leave to Introduce Chief Magistrates Courts (Amendment) Bill 2024

The Mukono County North Member of Parliament, Hon. Abdallah Kiwanuka, has been granted leave by Parliament to introduce the Chief Magistrates Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to increase the pecuniary jurisdiction of Chief Magistrates Courts from the current Shs50 million to Shs 200 million. Pecuniary jurisdiction refers to the monetary value of cases a court can legally hear and determine.
Parliament’s decision was made during a sitting on Thursday, 3 October 2024, presided over by Speaker Anita Among. The current law under Section 207 (1) (a) of the Magistrates Courts Act Cap 16 restricts Chief Magistrates to handling cases whose value does not exceed Shs50 million.

The proposed amendment will not only raise the limits for Chief Magistrates but also for Grade One Magistrates, increasing their jurisdiction from Shs20 million to Shs100 million. Similarly, Grade Two Magistrates, currently capped at Shs500,000, could see their limits increased to Shs50 million.

Hon. Kiwanuka explained that the bill aims to tackle the case backlog in Uganda’s High Court, which is overwhelmed with cases that he argues should be handled by lower courts.

According to him, the High Court is burdened with 19,824 out of 33,222 pending cases, while Magistrates Courts have significantly fewer backlogged cases—only 11,231.
“There is a need to amend the Magistrates Courts Act to increase the pecuniary jurisdiction of Magistrates Courts as a means to reduce case backlog in the High Court,” Kiwanuka said.

The proposal was supported by Shadow Attorney General, Hon. Wilfred Niwagaba, who pointed out that the current limitations place unnecessary pressure on the High Court. “It is long overdue; imagine the High Court sitting to determine cases of Shs51 million. I ask my learned brother, the Attorney General, to accept this amendment in good faith,” said Niwagaba, also the representative of Ndorwa County East.

Kiwanuka has also proposed a six-month transitional period to allow cases already in the High Court to be transferred to the Chief Magistrates’ courts or retained at the discretion of the High Court.

Seconding the motion, Hon. Yusuf Mutembuli (NRM, Bunyole East County) said that the existing jurisdictional limits render many highly qualified magistrates underutilized and unnecessarily congest the High Court.

The Magistrates Courts Act Cap 16, last amended in 2007, is being re-examined to enlarge the jurisdiction of these lower courts, particularly in civil matters, to improve the efficiency of Uganda’s judicial system.