The Proposal to Make Magistrates Grade Ones Chief Magistrates is an efficient use of resources that will improve service delivery in Uganda

by Admin · Published September 23, 2025 · Updated September 23, 2025

Recently the Ministry of Public Service produced an approved structure of the Lower bench of the Judiciary that didn’t include Grade One Magistrates. This sparked speculation that the government intends to either abolish the position of Magistrate Grade One and elevate all position holders to Chief Magistrates or retire the position holders. Today we examine the implications of such an outcome if it were to be implemented on service delivery and efficiency of the Judiciary Service.

Institutional background and structure

The Judiciary is composed of the Higher bench (High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court) and the lower bench (Registrars, Chief Magistrates, Magistrates Grade One and Magistrates Grade Two). The lower bench functions like a public service bureaucracy with up to ten levels between the Chief Registrar who is the highest ranked member of the lower bench and a Magistrate Grade Two who is the lowest ranking member of the lower bench. The higher bench that is referred to as Courts of Judicature is a club of equals separated by jurisdiction that enjoys nearly the same benefits and nearly similar pay. The Chief Justice earns UGX 23,000,000 per month while High Court Judges earn UGX 22,000,000 per month. On the other hand as it is with most public service bureaucracies the pay gap between the lowest ranking member of the lower bench (UGX 3,000,000) and the highest ranking member of the lower bench (UGX 20,000,000) is close to seven times.

Public Service has proposed a harmonisation of the salaries of the Registrars, Deputy Registrars, Assistant Registrars and Chief Magistrates to a monthly pay of UGX 12,750,000. The Magistrates Grade One are agitating for a salary of UGX 10,200,000 per month to reduce the pay gap between them and the High Court to at least half from four times. They argue that they face the same risks as judges and Registrars, live and work in the same environment and have the same expectations placed on them. The proposed harmonisation has not occured in the Judiciary and the Chief Magistrates who would have been its beneficiaries are stuck at a monthly pay of UGX 9,800,000 per month. The lowest paid Grade One Magistrates earn UGX 5,200,000 per month.

Personnel and performance of Magistrates Grade One

The Judiciary has 702 Judicial Officers and 397 or 56.6% of them are Magistrates Grade One. As of July 2025, there are 11 Justices at the Supreme Court, 20 Justices of Appeal and 88 High Court Judges. There is one Chief Registrar, 74 Registrars, and 100 Chief Magistrates. The primary duty of all these Judicial Officers is the adjudication of disputes in line with the Constitutional mandate of the Judiciary. Magistrates Grade Ones work in every part of Uganda from the DRC border in Arua, to the Kenyan Border in Karamoja and Mbale to the Tanzanian Border in Western Uganda and DRC border in Bundibugyo. Magistrate Grade Ones also work in every level of the Judiciary from the Supreme Court of Uganda to the Court of Appeal to the High Court Circuits to the Chief Magistrates or Grade One Courts in every corner of Uganda. They are deployed as follows:

Magistrates Grade Ones of all ranks work in all courts including the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court as Research Magistrates attached to the chambers of each of the Justices. They carry out research for the Justices and draft decisions for them.
Magistrates Grade One are also attached to all Chief Magistrates’ Courts in Uganda where on average there is one Chief Magistrate and at least two Grade One Magistrates to assist them run those stations.
Magistrates Grade One are also attached to each Independent Magistrate Grade One Courts across the Country. There are about 140 Independent Grade One Magistrates Courts.
Magistrates Grade One are also attached to Grade Two Courts to assist the former Grade Two Magistrates.

Judiciary records indicate that Grade One Magistrates have the Second High performance index and the lowest number of backlog cases. According to the Judiciary Performance Report of 2023-2024, the clearance rates of Magistrates Grade One Courts, is approximately 92% and is second only to that of Chief Magistrates Courts of 97%. It should be noted that the Chief Magistrates Courts are manned by Chief Magistrates and Magistrates Grade One of different ranks. The clearance rate of the High Court, which constitute Judges, Registrars and also Magistrates Grade Ones was 84.7%, that of the Court of Appeal, constituting of Justices of Appeal, Registrars and Magistrate Grade Ones was 30.4% and that of the Supreme court, consisting of Justices of Supreme Court, Registrars and Magistrate Grade Ones was 36.7%.

In terms of backlog, the Magistrate Grade One Courts had the lowest number of back log cases of 2,744, Chief Magistrates Court had backlog of 9,374 and High Courts had backlog of 14,693 cases. These statistics confirm that Grade One Magistrates have a very low number of backlog cases.

Are Grade One Magistrates qualified to become Chief Magistrates

Judicial Service Commission which recruits and disciplines Judicial Officers requires a Chief Magistrate to have at least a Bachelor’s degree in Law, Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from LDC and at least 8 years of post enrollment legal experience. Magistrate Grade Ones have the academic qualifications but some do not have the required post enrollment experience of eight years. If Grade One Magistrates were to be promoted to Chief Magistrates some would need to remain at that position before they attain the required experience. However most would transition immediately to being Chief Magistrates because they have the required qualifications.

What happens to the Current Chief Magistrates

The Judiciary currently has 100 Chief Magistrates who can become Supervisory Chief Magistrates to supervise the other Chief Magistrates. They can retain the proposed salary of UGX 12,750,000 while the New Chief Magistrates earn UGX 11,750,000.

What are the cost implications of elevating Grade One Magistrates to Chief Magistrates.

Currently Grade One Magistrates earn UGX 5,200,000 and there are 400 Grade One Magistrates. Elevating the 400 Magistrates to Chief Magistrates will mean raising their salaries from UGX 5,200,000 to UGX 11,750,000. This requires at least an extra UGX 31,440,000,000 per year in wage allocation. However this extra money is justified by the increased workload and resultant efficiency created by having many Judicial Officers with enchanced jurisdiction.

The number of Chief Magistrates will increase from 100 to 500 Chief Magistrates. The increased number of Chief Magistrates can reduce the workload of the High Court thus reducing backlog and leading to cases being disposed of in a timely manner. The caseload per Judicial Officer will be manageable leading to improved disposal rates and lower backlog.
Once the Jurisdiction of Chief Magistrates is increased from UGX 50,000,000 to UGX 300,000,000 a large number of disputes pending before the High Court shall reduce significantly. Instead of 88 High Courts Judges struggling with thousands of files, the 500 Chief Magistrates will absorb most of this workload.
The need to keep increasing the number of High Court Judges will reduce. A high Court judge is what is referred to as a Specified Officer with expensive statutory protections and entitlements. Whereas the base salary of a High Court Judge is UGX 22,000,000 when allowances are favored in, the total package could be as high as UGX 40,000,000 per month. This means that one High Court judge can pay for and maintain three Chief Magistrates. Once some of the responsibilities of the High Court are devolved to the Chief Magistrates the state will not need as many High Court Judges. The number of High Court judges can remain at current levels or be allowed to reduce as Judicial Officers retire and die.
If Grade One Magistrates are retained and their quest for a fair pay gap between them and the higher bench is achieved the state will have highly paid Judicial Officers with less responsibility. Imagine if Grade One Magistrates were to be paid UGX 9,800,000 per month as they want. Why not take advantage of this to grant them even more responsibilities that will reduce the burden on the higher bench and improve case outcomes. In the end you have happy well paid Judicial Officers and more output. It is a win win situation.
The proposal is an opportunity not only to reduce the pressure and burden on the High Court but also to streamline the lower bench. The division of responsibilities between Grade One Magistrates and Chief Magistrates is inefficient given the qualifications and abilities of Grade One Magistrates. In some areas the workload of the Grade One Magistrate and the Chief Magistrate can be handled by one Judicial Officer. However due to the requirements of jurisdiction and the limiter number of Chief Magistrates such an area needs a caretaker Chief Magistrate to hear cases failing within the jurisdiction of the Chief Magistrate. If there were enough Chief Magistrates the required number of Judicial Officers in areas with low case load would reduce significantly because one Chief Magistrate can handle all the disputes.
The proposal is an opportunity to devolve some powers of the High Court. The High Court is plagued by High Backlog and a high case load. It is bogged down by the I have arrived mentality of Many High Court Judges that as a result fail to perform at the expected rate and the High cost of maintaining a High Court. If the powers of the High Court such as trying capital offenses and judicial review were devolved to Chief Magistrates it would make the judiciary more efficient. Not only would the number of Chief Magistrates be very high but they would have the necessary experience and expertise to absorb the devolved responsibilities. The proposal would ensure that Magistrates enter the Judiciary as Grade One Magistrates and transition to Chief Magistrates after service as Grade One Magistrates for at least 4 years or for eight years if one enters after enrollment. This will allow the new entrants to be trained and to adjust to the needs of adjudication. By the time one attains the required eight years of post enrollment experience, they will have obtained the necessary experience to properly exercise the devolved powers. The High Court can concentrate on appeals, certain disputes reserved for it and oversight of Chief Magistrates.
In exchange for the promotion and increased pay Grade One Magistrates can give up benefit of retiring with 80 percent of their salaries under the Administration of the Judiciary Act. Given it’s cost implications many Judicial Officers can negotiate with the government to reduce the percentage or revert to the formula that applies to other public officers.

What about the states interest in control.

The separation of powers requires some executive control over the Judiciary and as a result it requires that Judicial Officers be appointed by the President. However Chief Magistrates are not appointed by the President and the executive at times has interest in having political disputes adjudicated by political appointees that are vetted by it. Devolving powers of the High Court will not eliminate the High Court and exception can be made allowing the state to file certain matters that could be adjudicated by the Chief Magistrates in High Court especially in criminal cases. The current law allows the DPP to file criminal charges in the High Court even where the matter is triable by the lower court. The devolution of powers will not affect this position. In cases where the state wants to a person to be heard in the High Court such a matter can be filed in the High Court. Furthermore, the supervisory powers of the High Court and the right to appeal will still exist and be used to exercise control over certain outcomes.

It will be an efficient use of public resources that will lead to better service delivery

When you go to Ugandan Prisons, most of the people on remand are suspects accused of capital offenses that are tried exclusively by the High Court. Less than thirty percent of the prisoners on remand are triable by the Magistrates Courts. If Grade One Magistrates are made Chief Magistrates and most of these cases are assigned to them the overcrowding in prisons will reduce. Magistrates don’t wait for criminal sessions. They hear criminal cases every week. Magistrates are deployed in every district in Uganda. Criminals don’t have to be moved from their locality to be tried in Magistrates Courts.

Most land and civil cases in Magistrates Courts take less than a year to be heard and decided. Some disputes in Magistrate Courts are heard and decided within three months. If the Jurisdiction of Magistrates Grade Ones were increased from UGX 20,000,000 to UGX 300,000,000 many of the cases pending before the High Court would be heard by the Magistrates. It would reduce the caseload in the high Court and ensure faster disposal of disputes. The right to a fair trial requires a speedy trial but with the High Court overwhelmed by the number of disputes, a case can remain undecided for more than ten years and for as many as twenty years. Instead of 88 Judges hearing 140,000 cases. You will have 40,000 cases or less in the High Court and 500 Chief Magistrates hearing 100,000 cases that were previously stuck in the High Court.

A High Court Judge is entitled to a house, a driver, a house keeper, a lead car with police officers and a myriad of other allowances. A Chief Magistrate merely gets a car and a driver and half the salary of a High Court Judge. The salary and allowances of a High Court judge can pay three Chief Magistrates who can dispose of three times more cases than one High Court Judge. Currently a Chief Magistrate has a yearly target of 500 cases. This means that three Chief Magistrates can ideally dispose of 1,500 cases. This means that 500 Chief Magistrates can ideally dispose of 750,000 per year. This exceeds the total number of cases filed in all courts in Uganda that is 240,0000.

Currently Magistrate Grade Ones are deployed in every Corner of Uganda. They are the most accessible Judicial Officers in the country and more than seventy five percent of Ugandan will never need to interact with the High Court. If these courts became Chief Magistrates Courts with enchanced jurisdiction Ugandans would be served in their localities. A murderer is caught, charged, tried and convicted or acquitted in a few months instead of years. All it takes is an extra UGX 32,000,000,000.