Covid Articles

JUSTICE IN THE ERA OF A PANDEMIC; AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON UGANDA’S COURT OPERATIONS

When the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020, the Ugandan government was swift to take the necessary measures to combat the spread of the virus.1 The ministry of health issued standard operating measures to prevent the spread of the disease.2 The pandemic has had a widespread impact on every aspect of society and how people live their everyday lives. The measures aimed at curtailing the spread of the coronavirus have without a doubt caused a total a disruption to normalcy. This article specifically looks at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the incidental measures on the pursuit of justice through the court system in Uganda. It will highlight the various ways in which the courts have been affected by the COVID-19 measures and their response to the same.

THE IMPACT OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC ON THE TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE LANDSCAPE IN UGANDA

The purpose of this article is to explain the impact the COVID 19 pandemic has had on developments and work in the Transitional Justice discipline in Uganda. The article is based on the Author’s experiences as a Transitional Justice Practioner. It is divided into 3 parts. The first part begins with a background to the circumstances under which the National Transitional Justice Policy was passed, the expectations from a National stakeholder dialogue in February 2020. The second part deals with the challenges COVID 19 has caused to the entire process. The third part of the article then concludes with experiences of creative community engagement that have been adopted in line during the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic and gives recommendations on the way forward.