Uganda, April 19 -- The Judiciary says it has saved about Shs2.16 billion in just 11 days following the rollout of daily non-capital plea-bargain hearings across the Kampala Metropolitan Area, in a move officials say has sharply reduced case backlog and eased prison congestion.

The programme, which began on April 8, is part of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) reforms aimed at speeding up justice delivery and lowering the cost of inmate maintenance.

Officials say government spends about Shs30,000 per day on each prisoner covering food, water, electricity and medical care, making backlog reduction a major cost-saving priority.

According to data from the ADR registry, about 1,200 cases have so far been handled - including 966 cases at...