Up to shs14.2 trillion is stuck up in litigation in various civil courts in the country.
This was revealed by the Chief Justice, Dr.Flavian Zeija as he released the outcome of the 2025 Judiciary National Court Case Census .
Speaking on Thursday, Zeija said the total subject matter value of pending cases that are civil in nature is shs 14.2 trillion of which shs10.73 is at High Court level and shs 3.36 trillion at the Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court.
“Commercial cases accounted for the highest total subject matter value of shs1.72 trillion, while family cases had a total subject matter value of shs 1.05 trillion. Small Claims Cases recorded a total subject matter value of shs15.77 billion,” Zeija said.
“ This amount is equivalent to 7.0% of Uganda’s 2024 GDP, highlights the Judiciary’s crucial role in the timely resolution of disputes involving substantial economic resources that are vital for national development. Resolving these pending cases would foster significant economic benefits.”
Releasing the results, the Chief Justice said the census identified 167,353 pending cases across all court levels, with the high court (70,006 cases) and Chief Magistrates’ Courts (64,937 cases) bearing the largest caseloads.
Criminal cases dominated with 65,709 cases, followed by Civil (44,911) and land (33,496) cases among other categories
“Approximately 72% of pending cases are less than two years old, while 2,327 cases have remained pending for over ten years, indicating a significant backlog, particularly in the High Court (25,098 backlog cases) and Chief Magistrates’ Courts (13,128 backlog cases),” Zeija said.
According to the judiciary national court case census, the central region has the highest backlog (16,224 cases), while the Northern region has the lowest (3,915 cases).
The Chief Justice said going forward, the case census must not be treated as a one-time exercise but rather a routine and institutionalised feature of the Judiciary’s annual calendar.
He said regular case censuses will assist the judiciary to track progress over time, measure the impact of reforms, identify emerging trends early and promote accountability at all levels .
“ By institutionalising data collection and analysis, we embed a culture of continuous improvement and performance management within the Judiciary,” he said.