KAMPALA, Uganda Shortly after his retirement, Deputy Chief Justice Richard Butera has been reappointed as the head of mediation in the judiciary, a fresh task in his legal career.

Background.

Butera has served as a member of the Supreme Court of Uganda since September 2017. Immediately prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, he served as a justice of the Court of Appeal and was replaced by Flavian Zeija as the head of the Court of Appeal; he retired on the 9th of April, 2025, after 40 years of commendable service to the judiciary.

Butera, who served as the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the Uganda’s Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, While there, advised the then Inspector General of the Uganda Police, then General Kale Kayihura that as of April 2013, there was no law in Uganda against drink-walking. “

Butera has been a champion in the reduction of the case backlog of suspects on remand, as he started a programme to reduce it in April 2010. In January 2020, during the Judicial Officers Conference, he advised the officers to take special care of complainants who are elderly, disabled or have other special needs, including pregnant women and children.

In July 2020, Butera was appointed to the Judicial Service Commission by President Yoweri Museveni. A constitutional body established under Article 146 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995, whose mandate is to recruit judicial officers and regulate their conduct.

New role

As a retired senior judge and a great team leader with a wide range of judicial experience, he has now taken on the new mantle as the head of annexed mediation, yet another milestone in the Judiciary’s ongoing efforts to enhance access to justice and reduce case backlogs through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). a significant stride towards judicial reform.

During the handover ceremony of the Deputy Chief Justice presided over by Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo at the Supreme Court Conference Hall in Kampala, Butera thanked the president of Uganda, parliament, and the judiciary permanent secretary for the trust during his tenure as the head of the Court of Appeal.

“ADR is not only time-saving but also brings justice closer to people.”

Butera added that he had a strategic plan to continue promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution, which he said gives citizens a more familiar chance to resolve disputes without going through lengthy court battles.