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Fisheries, wildlife crimes dominate new utility court
Some of the suspects in the Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court on May 19, 2021. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- Crimes such as possession of protected species without a licence, illegal entry to protected areas, and illicit wildlife trade, among others, are what the court is prosecuting.
Fisheries and wildlife-related crimes have dominated the new Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court, Monitor can reveal.
Statistics obtained by this publication reveal that from the time of inception of the court about six years ago, fisheries-related crimes under the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) top in number with 1,115 cases out of which 1,083 have since been concluded.
The crimes under fisheries category that are being prosecuted include use of prohibited fishing gear, possession of immature fish, and fishing without a licence, among others. Further statistics show that wildlife-related crimes came in the second position as the most registered offenses in the court with 551 cases.
Crimes such as possession of protected species without a licence, illegal entry to protected areas, and illicit wildlife trade, among others, are what the court is prosecuting in this category.
Under utilities category, Umeme and power theft-related cases topped with 88 cases, having been registered since the time of its inception. Some of the registered offences under this category include installation without a permit, tampering with electricity installations, illegal connections and theft of electricity.
Cases involving communication, and filed by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), were recorded in big numbers too, amounting to 134.
The offences under this category included electronic fraud under the Computer Misuse Act, damage and removal of installations, among others.
The court also prosecutes cases from other government entities such as the National Drug Authority, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, National Environmental Management Authority, National Forestry Authority, and Uganda Registration Services Bureau, among others.
In total, this court has registered 2,219 cases and disposed of 2,062 with 157 cases, pending disposal as of December last year.
The Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court was established in 2016 following an outcry from stakeholders over delayed trials and mismanagement of cases, among others. It commenced operations on May 26, 2017. The court is housed at the Chief Magistrates Court of Kampala at Buganda Road, with an unlimited territorial jurisdiction.
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the leading prosecuting government agency in these specialised offences.
In one of the latest status reports of the court seen by this newspaper dated November 2022, top management at the court proposes creation of a High Court Division, the way the Anti-Corruption Court has the magistrates section and High Court, if it’s to perform to its expectation.
Mr Jamson Karemani, the public relations officer of the Judiciary, yesterday said: “The players who include magistrates, prosecutors and investigators in the court are all committed people. The fact that they specialise, is easy to concentrate.”
When asked about the proposal to create a High Court Division, just like the Anti-Corruption Court, Mr Karemani said: “The idea of upgrading it to the High Court level is still under study.”
Proposal
In one of the latest status reports of the court seen by this newspaper dated November 2022, top management at the court proposes creation of a High Court Division, the way the Anti-Corruption Court has the magistrates section and High Court, if it’s to perform to its expectation.
