Increasing the Jurisdiction of Magistrates without enhancing their welfare is unfair, unlawful and dangerous
Parliament passed the Magistrates Courts (Amendment) Act, 2026, and the President. assented to it on 29th April 2026. The Act commenced on 8th May 2026. It amends the Magistrates Courts Act, Cap. 19 to;
- Increase civil jurisdiction of Chief Magistrates from UGX 50 million to 10,000 currency points (UGX 200 million), and that of Magistrates from UGX 20mn to 5,000 currency points (UGX 100 million).
- It eliminates the need by the High Court to confirm sentences by Magistrates of two years and above. It provides that sentences needing confirmation by the High shall be from 6 years and above.
- It increases the sentencing power of a Magistrate where a fine is imposed to ten million shillings.
The Judiciary argues that the reform is significant because Magistrates Courts are the first point of contact for the majority of justice seekers. By empowering these courts to handle more matters, the Judiciary is reducing the need for litigants to travel long distances, cutting the cost of litigation, and supporting faster disposal of cases. According to the Judiciary the expanded jurisdiction means that more disputes will be resolved at the Magistrates Courts level, reducing the burden on the High Court and enabling court users to access justice nearer to their communities.
However, the Judiciary does not mention the welfare of the Magistrates that will handle the enhanced jurisdiction and the increased workloads. During the consideration of the Amendment Uganda Law Society recommended that the increased responsibility for Magistrates courts must be matched with an improvement in their welfare. The Magistrates themselves told the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs that there is need to improve their welfare.
The Magistrates Grade One (Now Magistrates) told Parliament that they are the most vulnerable category of Judicial Officers because they lack:
- Government vehicles,
- Housing allowance,
- Fuel facilitation,
- Security or risk allowances.
The Magistrates argued that their current monthly salary of a Magistrate Grade One (approximately UGX 5.2 million) is nearly equivalent to the housing allowance paid to High Court judges. They requested Parliament to align their remuneration with their responsibilities and proposed that Parliament appropriate UGX 40 bn to the Judiciary so that:
- The salary of Magistrates Grade One be increased to UGX 10.5 million,
- The Cabinet-approved salary of Chief Magistrates (UGX 12.75 million) be implemented,
- Motor vehicles, housing, and risk allowances be provided.
The Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs listened to the advice and recommendation of the stakeholders and Magistrates themselves and recommended that the Welfare of Magistrates be enhanced. The Committee under clause 6.4(c) of its report recommended that in light of the increased responsibility of Chief Magistrates and other Magistrates, Government should revise the terms of service of Chief Magistrates and other Magistrates and provide them adequate facilities to enable them execute their mandate.
The Government has not acted on this recommendation. The government did not put a salary increase for the Magistrates in the budget and no action has been taken to implement the wise recommendation of the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. Per a source at ULS, “the dilemma of government inaction is akin to employing a person to guard a huge field of fatty, dripping, and arousing nyama choma without giving him or her a share for their own eating. The temptation for the hungry, oppressed and neglected employee to eat the arousing nyama choma is real and virtually certain to be too difficult to resist”
It’s gross negligence on the part of the Government of Uganda and it is the public seeking justice that will pay the price. It’s not that Magistrates should use the enhanced Jurisdiction to terrorize litigants by demanding bribes but that the enhanced jurisdiction brings higher risks of bribery whether solicited or unsolicited. It is hard to reject inducements when your daughter is hurry or sitting at home due to lack of school fees. The Magistrates are humans not angels and we know that the angels themselves are not above the allure of power and privileges.
Apart from those risks, the radical transformation of the duties and responsibilities of Magistrates from disputes worth UGX 50m to UGX 200m and UGX 20m to UGX 100m without additional consideration can amount to constructive dismissal. Under Section 64(1)(c) of the Employment Act constructive dismissal shall be deemed to take place where the contract of service is ended by the employee with or without notice, as a consequence of unreasonable conduct on the part of the employer towards the employee. The Courts have construed unreasonable conduct as the kind which, in accordance with good industrial relations practice, no employee could reasonably be expected to accept. See, Ejong Judith v Makerere Business Institute (Labour Dispute Reference No. 329 of 2017) [2026] UGIC 6.
What is more unreasonable than multiplying the power and responsibilities of a Magistrate five times without additional pay to account for the extra responsibilities and workloads. Imagine that a Magistrate whose jurisdiction is increased to UGX 100m yet that Magistrates still earns UGX 5.2m which he or she was earning when handling cases of UGX 20m. Imagine further that a Chief Magistrate who used to handle cases of 50m is still earning UGX 9.8m while handling cases of UGX 200m. Further consider that at 50m a Chief Magistrate was earning UGX 9.8m and at 100m a Magistrate is still earning UGX 5.2m. How can that not amount to arbitrary and oppressive conduct.
The Judiciary needs to implement the recommendation of the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs as fast as possible to protect its Officers from the risks, motivate them to exercise their mandate properly and with intergrity and prevent public backlash. The reputation and prestige of the Judiciary is already on the lifeline. There is no need to create another potential time bomb. With a budget of UGX 1.1 trillions for Parliament, more than UGX 500bn for the President and UGX 82 trillions total budget, UGX 40bn is a drop in the bucket and money well spent.
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