By Our Reporter
On Monday October 24,2022, the Resident Judge of the Soroti High Court Circuit, Hon. Justice Dr. Henry Peter Adonyo, presided over a meeting to discuss the report and progress of the Digital Transcription Assistant (DTA) Project by Associate Prof. Florence Tushabe of Soroti University at Soroti High Court.
The purpose of the meeting was to provide an update on the development of the Digital Transcription Assistant project, which aims to facilitate the automatic transcription of Ugandan court proceedings using speech-to-text configurations.
Prof. Tushabe, who is the project’s team lead, noted that DTA had been customized to the Ugandan context, specifically the Teso sub-region, and is configured with Ugandan accents, names, and locations.
She said DTA will expedite the production of court proceedings because the transcriber will no longer be required to type out every word spoken in the audio recording microphone, but will instead focus on editing the text by correcting misspelt words, including proper punctuation, and adding additional content such as pauses or sobs that cannot be obtained from audio translations.
Regarding internet connectivity, Prof. Tushabe reassured the Judge that the DTA can be used in both online and offline modes.
Hon. Justice Adonyo noted that the text database should be expanded to include additional words and that the project is timely because it addresses a pressing need in the administration of justice.
He commended the project team for their efforts and urged them to improve in the areas highlighted for a successful implementation.
The Judge told the project team to collaborate with the Judiciary ICT Committee, which is in charge of all IT systems within the Judiciary.
HW Jessica Chemeri, the Soroti Assistant Registrar, participated in the meeting via Zoom while HW Okiror Edmond represented the Soroti Chief Magistrate in the meeting attended by other court staff.
IBF International Consulting Group financed the project, while the Governance and Security Programme oversaw its execution.
