Ismail Musa Ladu
9 November 2009
Lack of proper recording facilities is partly to blame for the misreporting of court proceedings, the Deputy Chief Justice, Leticia Mukasa-Kikonyogo, has said.
Speaking at a four-days training workshop for court reporters organised by the Uganda Media Foundation in Kampala last week, Ms Kikonyogo said: "Currently there are no microphones to help enhance the voices of the presiding judicial officers and other court users, therefore chances of misreporting, are heightened, but understandably so," Ms Kikonyogo said.
She said the Judiciary is mindful of the constraints and limitations encountered by the court reporters in their duties, adding that most courts are still taking court proceedings by hand, something she said will soon come to an end.
According to Ms Kikonyogo, court reporters should verify their stories with the Registrar or the Head of the Court, before breaking the story, arguing that, this would avert cases of defamation and/or libel.
Ms Kikonyogo said there should be regular meetings between the media and the Judiciary as a platform for dialogue to pave way towards smooth relations between the two parties. She said the Judiciary will install electronic recording equipment to all courts countrywide. "Our ICT department will begin with an overhaul of the Commercial Court's recording system, which is to be converted from analog to digital. The next step shall be to install court reporting equipment in the Family Division of the High Court," she said.
Justice Kikonyogo that before the beginning of the next financial year, the Jinja Court will be set apart as a model upon which the court recording system shall be rolled out to the entire country. At the moment it is only the Commercial Court which has a systematic court recording facility in place.
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