More than Shs 6 trillion remains locked in unresolved court disputes in Uganda, raising concerns among policymakers and financial sector leaders that the judicial backlog is constraining investment and slowing economic activity.
According to the Judiciary’s National Court Case Census 2025, cited by chief justice Flavian Zeija during the opening of the New Law Year, commercial disputes alone account for the largest share of money tied up in litigation.
By the end of 2024/25, courts were handling 5,790 pending commercial cases with a combined subject matter value of Shs 5.98 trillion, a slight decline from Shs 6.34 trillion the previous year.
These figures represent the highest monetary value among all pending case categories, surpassing civil disputes valued at Shs 5.451 trillion, land matters at Shs 1.718 trillion, and other categories.
At the same time, the total number of pending cases across Uganda’s courts rose sharply by 17.9 per cent, increasing from 161,838 in 2023/24 to 190,793 in 2024/25.
Criminal cases account for the largest share of pending matters at 70,338, while international crimes recorded the lowest number of pending cases at 44.
Court backlogs, defined as cases that remain unresolved for at least two years also increased by 8.4 per cent, reaching 46,181 cases in 2024/25.
High court circuits recorded the largest backlog at 17,438 cases, while the Supreme court had the smallest backlog.
Economic cost of delays
Bank of Uganda governor Michael Atingi-Ego says the judicial backlog is partly contributing to high bank lending rates because it effectively removes large amounts of money from circulation.
Unresolved commercial disputes, he said, slow economic activity, undermine investor confidence and limit credit availability.
When funds are tied up in litigation for years, they cannot be reinvested in businesses or productive sectors of the economy.
Government steps in
The ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development says it is committed to supporting the Judiciary with additional funding to accelerate case disposal, particularly in commercial courts.
Government is also promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms – including mediation and plea bargaining – as a key strategy to reduce the backlog.
Under the ADR programme, authorities aim to cut backlog cases by half and reduce them to 5.2 per cent of total cases by the 2029/30 financial year. In 2024/25, a total of 3,760 cases were resolved through plea bargaining, including 2,251 at High court level and 1,509 in various magisterial areas, resulting in a clearance rate of 67.16 per cent, according to the ministry and the Judiciary.
The Finance ministry says these reforms are embedded in the Fourth National Development Plan (NDPIV).
“The NDPIV Governance and Security Programme emphasizes the need to improve access to justice for all Ugandans, with one of the key focus areas being reducing case backlog in the Commercial and Land court divisions,” the ministry notes in its January microeconomic indicators report.
Rising commercial disputes
Despite these interventions, the number of commercial cases continues to grow. The Judiciary’s Annual Performance Report 2024/25 shows that commercial cases at the High court increased by 23 per cent, rising from 6,285 cases in the previous year to 7,976 cases last financial year.
Pending commercial cases at High court divisions also increased by 34 per cent, from 5,776 to 7,754 cases.
Similarly, commercial court backlogs rose from 1,645 to 2,135 cases.
Meanwhile, the total value of money tied up in commercial disputes stood at Shs 5.98 trillion in 2024/25, down slightly from Shs 6.34 trillion in 2023/24.
The overall case disposal rate also declined slightly from 59.7 per cent in 2023/24 to 58 per cent in 2024/25. Criminal cases recorded the highest disposal rate at 62.83 per cent, while land cases had the lowest at 41.4 per cent.
Banking sector alarm
The Uganda Bankers’ Association (UBA) says the commercial case backlog has become a serious systemic challenge affecting the financial sector and the broader business environment.
UBA chief executive officer Wilbrod Owor says the trillions of shillings locked in unresolved cases represent a major drag on economic growth.
“This backlog constrains credit growth and lending, as unpaid loans and prolonged disputes increase non-performing loans, leading to higher interest rates and reduced liquidity for financing the private sector,” Owor said.
The association argues that faster resolution of commercial disputes would unlock funds that could instead circulate as affordable credit, reduce borrowing costs and stimulate economic activity.
To address the problem, UBA has consistently advocated for greater use of arbitration and mediation, arguing that ADR mechanisms provide quicker and more flexible outcomes than traditional court processes.
Digital courts
Government and the Judiciary are also rolling out technological solutions to improve efficiency in case management. One major reform is the Electronic Court Case Management Information System (ECCMIS), which aims to automate and digitalise court processes.
So far, the system has been deployed in 23 out of Uganda’s 236 court stations. Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury Ramathan Ggoobi says that by June 1, 2026, all courts using ECCMIS will fully transition to digital operations and phase out paper-based processes.
Other reforms include the installation of Digital Court Recording and Transcription Equipment. Last financial year, two additional systems were installed at Kitgum and Mpigi High courts, bringing the total to 93 sets installed across 44 court stations.
Government is also strengthening the legal and institutional framework of the Judiciary by expanding court infrastructure.
Statutory instruments have increased the number of High court circuits from 20 to 38 and magisterial areas from 80 to 157, measures aimed at reducing travel distances for litigants and speeding up case resolution.
Justice Zeija says addressing the backlog will require sustained funding and institutional reforms but could unlock enormous economic value.
Resolving these disputes, he noted, would release financial resources equivalent to a significant share of Uganda’s GDP back into the economy.
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