Sh1.9 trillion locked in banking disputes at Commercial Court

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At least sh1.9 trillion is locked up in banking disputes alone at the Commercial Court, with more than 354 cases categorised as backlog after spending more than two years in the judicial system.

Justice Anna Mugenyi, the head of the court, made the revelation during a breakfast meeting convened by the Chief Justice, Dr Flavian Zeija. The meeting formed part of the ongoing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) conference aimed at charting ways of unlocking the growing case backlog in the courts. The event took place at Mestil Hotel in Kampala on Thursday (March 12).

“From 2022 to 2026, the court has handled over 1,075 banking-related cases with a total value of about sh2.3 trillion. So far,796 cases have been completed, worth sh447b. As of 2026, there are 623 pending cases worth about sh1.9 trillion, and 354 of them worth sh1.7 trillion have been in the system for more than two years,” Justice Mugenyi said.

Drawing from the statistics, Justice Mugenyi said the figures show that banking disputes account for a significant portion of high-value commercial litigation. The backlog, she added, demonstrates the need for enhanced case management, increased use of mediation, and strengthening judicial capacity to ensure faster disposal of cases.

She attributed the backlog largely to a poor attitude towards mediation in the banking sector.

In a bid to unlock the backlog, Justice Mugenyi said the court has made it mandatory for litigants to accompany their pleadings with mediation causes so that cases filed before the court are first referred to mediation and only fixed for hearing after mediation has failed.

“So, the moment the filing of pleadings has been concluded by the parties, the matter is referred to the registrar in charge of mediation to allocate them to the mediators at the court, and eight of them are judges,” Justice Mugenyi said.

Given that banking is a technical sector, Justice Mugenyi underscored the need for the appointment of specialised banking mediators with the expertise required to speed up the process in a fair and balanced manner.

Justice Mugenyi revealed that the banking cases before the court range from loan recovery, mortgage enforcement, sale of mortgaged property, breach of loan agreements, guarantees and indemnities, interests, charges and penalties.

Established in 1996 to resolve complex commercial matters efficiently and fairly, the Commercial Court handles cases relating to the banking sector, insurance, trade, construction, intellectual property and insolvency, among others.

Justice Zeija encouraged the banking sector to embrace ADR mechanisms, including mediation, for the speedy resolution of disputes.

By prioritising ADR mechanisms, the Chief Justice said the parties avoid higher interest payments and the additional costs associated with recovery.

“So, if the banks find it easy to recover their money, the interest rate will automatically come down because the costs of borrowing will also go down,” Justice Zeija said.

Zeija also implored defaulters to embrace mediation rather than filing multiple applications, which he said impose additional financial burdens on them.

Using the example of how the war in northern Uganda was resolved through peace talks, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Nobert Mao said resolving disputes through ADR mechanisms is the way to go. “ADR mechanisms, I believe, can also be used in political cases,” Mao said.

Senior counsel Francis Gimara, who is also the head of the African Leadership Programme (ALP) East Africa, decried the case backlog, particularly at the Commercial Court, underscoring the importance of finding practical solutions to address the problem.

Gimara thanked the Government for introducing an ADR policy, saying it will go a long way in strengthening dispute resolution mechanisms in the country.

Organised by the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, the African Leadership Programme (ALP) and the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO), the conference forms part of ongoing national efforts to strengthen ADR mechanisms as a complementary pathway for resolving disputes in the country.

Prof. Justice Andrew Khauka argued that the initiative aligns with the Judiciary Alternative Justice System (AJS) strategy issued in 2023, which seeks to create stronger linkages between the formal justice system and informal justice mechanisms in order to expand access to justice and promote community-based dispute resolution.