Wakilii

Africa Institute for Energy and Governance (AFIEGO) and Another v National Environmental Management Authority and Another (Consolidated Miscellaneous Cause No 140 & 141 of 2019)

High Court · [2026] UGHCCD 119 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Consolidated judicial review applications by miscellaneous cause challenging administrative decisions on environmental impact assessment approvals.
Decision
Applications dismissed with costs to the respondents.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The court held that the judicial review application was amenable to review as NEMA and PAU are public bodies subject to judicial review, and the applicants had exhausted internal remedies. However, the court found that the appointment of Dr. Kabagambe Kalisa as presiding officer of the public hearing did not violate Guideline 5(3) of the EIA Public Guidelines since he was not an employee of the developers, lead agency, or NEMA. The court further held that no statutory 21-day notice requirement existed for public hearings, and the applicants failed to substantiate their allegations of bias or procedural impropriety. The application was dismissed with costs.

Outcome

Applications dismissed with costs to the respondents.

Facts

Total Exploration & Production Uganda B.V and Tullow Uganda Operations PTY Ltd developed an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) for the Tilenga Oil Project in Murchison Falls National Park and Buliisa district. NEMA disseminated the report to lead agencies in June 2018 and convened a technical review in July 2018. After a revised report was submitted in September 2018, NEMA issued public notices in October 2018 inviting comments by 5 November 2018 and scheduled public hearings for 12 and 15 November 2018 in Buliisa and Nwoya. The applicants attended both hearings. Dr. Kabagambe Kalisa, former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Energy and current Senior Presidential Advisor on Oil and Gas, presided over the hearings. The applicants complained about his appointment, alleged insufficient notice, and claimed they were denied adequate presentation time. NEMA approved the ESIA on 15 April 2019. The applicants filed these consolidated applications on 15 May 2019 seeking certiorari to quash the approval and prohibition against acting on it.

Issues

  1. Whether the instant application is amenable to judicial review.
  2. What are the remedies available.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Amenability — Public Bodies — NEMA and PAU as administrative public bodies subject to judicial review
The National Environmental Management Authority and the Petroleum Authority of Uganda are public bodies whose decisions are subject to judicial review under the Judicature Act and Judicature (Judicial Review) Rules.
Environmental Impact Assessment — Exhaustion of Internal Remedies — Section 140 of the National Environment Act does not bar judicial review
Section 140(2) of the National Environment Act does not bar the jurisdiction of the court to entertain an application for judicial review after an applicant has exhausted internal remedies by challenging a decision within the structure of the Authority and receiving no remedy.
Environmental Impact Assessment — Public Hearings — Qualification of Presiding Officer under Guideline 5(3)
Guideline 5(3) of the Environmental Impact Assessment Public Guidelines 1999 prohibits only the appointment of a presiding officer who is currently an employee, or one who has a direct interest in the activities of the developer, the lead agency, or the Authority. A former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Energy and current Senior Presidential Advisor on Oil and Gas does not fall within this exclusion where there is no evidence of employment by or direct interest in the activities of the developer, lead agency, or NEMA.
Environmental Impact Assessment — Public Consultation — Notice Period for Public Comments
Regulation 20(4) of the National Environment (Environmental and Social Assessment) Regulations 2020 mandates that the Authority indicate in its invitation the period within which the public may submit comments, but no statutory 21-day notice period exists for such invitations. The Authority has discretion to set the timeframe.
Natural Justice — Bias — Standard of Proof for Allegations of Actual or Apprehended Bias
A claim of actual bias requires proof that the decision maker approached the issues with a closed mind or had prejudged the matter. A claim of apprehended bias requires a finding that a fair-minded and reasonably well-informed observer might conclude that the decision maker did not approach the issue with an open mind. Unsupported allegations of bias will not sustain a judicial review application.

Legislation cited (17)

Cases cited (3)

  • Water & Environment Media Network and Others v NEMA and Another (HCMC Nos. 239 & 255 of 2020)
  • Mugoya Paul v UBOS (HCMC No. 118 of 2021)
  • Republic v Commissioner for Domestic Taxes Ex parte Sony Holdings Limited [2019] EKLR

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Africa Institute for Energy and Governance (AFIEGO) and Another v National Environmental Management Authority and Another (Consolidated Miscellaneous Cause No_ 140 & 141 of 2019) [2026] UGHCCD 119 (20
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.