The Judiciary has thrown its weight behind a proposed amendment to the Magistrates Courts Amendment Bill, 2026, arguing that the changes would significantly reduce the backlog currently burdening the High Court.
The Judiciary maintains that increasing the civil jurisdiction of Chief Magistrates and Magistrates could allow the transfer of 34,481 cases from the High Court to Magistrates’ Courts.
The position was outlined in a written presentation to the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee by Pamella Ocaya Lamunu, who cited statistics on the overall pending caseload and backlog of transferable cases as of December 2025.
“The High Court (both Divisions and Circuits) recorded a total of 70,186 pending cases, with a backlog of 21,317 cases (30.37%). Of these, 34,481 cases (49.13%) are eligible for transfer to Magistrates' Courts, including 11,040 backlog cases (51.79%), which would reduce the overall caseload to 35,705 pending cases and 10,277 backlog cases,” Lamunu said.
She explained that High Court Circuits account for the largest share of transferable cases, with 29,769 cases (71.22%), including 9,578 backlog cases (73.22%), indicating a substantial reduction in both pending and backlog cases if transfers are effected. In contrast, High Court Divisions have a lower proportion of transferable cases, with 4,712 cases (16.60%), including 1,462 backlog cases (17.75%).
The discussion follows the tabling of the Magistrates Courts Amendment Bill, 2026, by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao, on 27 February 2026.
The Bill seeks to increase the pecuniary jurisdiction of Magistrates’ Courts, enhance their powers to impose higher fines, abolish the position of Magistrate Grade II, and provide for the designation of magisterial areas.
According to the Ministry, the current pecuniary jurisdiction of Magistrates’ Courts was last revised in 2007, setting limits of Shs50 million for Chief Magistrates and Shs20 million for Magistrates Grade I.
Mao noted that inflation and changes in the value of money have rendered these limits too low, resulting in cases that should be handled at the magistrate level being filed in the High Court, thereby contributing to the backlog.
“Due to inflation and changes in value of money, the capping of the value of the subject matter is very low for the Magistrates Courts, and as a result, cases that should be handled at the magistrate level end up in the High Court, causing backlog,” Mao stated in the Bill.
Under Clause 10 of the Bill, the government proposes to amend Section 206 of the Principal Act by increasing the pecuniary jurisdiction of Magistrates from Shs20 million to Shs50 million, and that of Chief Magistrates from Shs50 million to Shs100 million.
Pecuniary jurisdiction is a legal term that refers to the maximum amount of money a court can award or handle in a case.
For example, if a court’s pecuniary jurisdiction is Shs20 million, it cannot decide a civil case where the claim is Shs30 million – that would have to go to a higher court.
While supporting the revision, the Judiciary called for further amendments to raise these limits even higher.
Lamunu proposed increasing the jurisdiction of Magistrates to Shs100 million and that of Chief Magistrates to Shs 200 million.
“In clause 10 of the Bill, I propose that paragraphs (a) and (b) be substituted as follows: ‘Section 206 of the principal Act is amended—(a) in subsection (1)(a), by substituting the words ‘fifty million shillings’ with ‘ten thousand currency points’ (Shs 200 million),’” Lamunu said.
“In subsection (1), by substituting paragraph (b) with: ‘(b) a magistrate shall have jurisdiction where the value of the subject matter does not exceed five thousand currency points (Shs 100 million).’ Justification: To address inflation and reduce the High Court backlog by ensuring that Magistrates’ Courts handle cases of considerable value.”
Lamunu added that increasing the jurisdiction of Chief Magistrates to Shs 200 million would result in a substantial upward shift in workload at the Magistrates’ Courts level.
The total caseload would rise to 88,214 cases, reflecting an addition of 14,975 transferred cases from the High Court, a 20.45% increase from the baseline.
Increasing the jurisdiction of Magistrates to Shs 100 million would similarly lead to a surge in workload at that level.
The total caseload would rise to 42,367 cases, reflecting an addition of 19,506 transferred cases and an 85.32% increase from the baseline. The backlog would also rise sharply, from 2,160 to 8,341 cases, driven by the transfer of 6,181 backlog cases.
The Judiciary also recommended revising how pecuniary jurisdiction limits are adjusted. Instead of requiring parliamentary approval, Lamunu proposed granting the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs the authority to vary the limits through statutory instruments.
“To empower the Minister of Justice, by Statutory Instrument, to vary the pecuniary jurisdiction where necessary. This will also reduce the lengthy legislative process,” she said.