Wakilii

Atwine v Uganda Railways Corporation and Another (Misc Cause 264 of 2022)

High Court · [2024] UGHCCD 104 · 2024 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review seeking certiorari, mandamus, and prohibition regarding non-renewal of employment contract
Decision
Application for judicial review dismissed; non-renewal of employment contract upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court dismissed an application for judicial review challenging the non-renewal of a fixed-term employment contract by Uganda Railways Corporation. The Court held that while the application was amenable for judicial review as it involved a public body exercising public authority, the applicant failed to establish grounds of illegality, irrationality or procedural impropriety. A fixed-term contract creates no legitimate expectation of renewal, and absent an express requirement in the contract or HR manual, an employer has no duty to provide a hearing before declining to renew.

Outcome

Application for judicial review dismissed; non-renewal of employment contract upheld

Facts

The applicant was employed by Uganda Railways Corporation as Principal Legal Officer on a three-year fixed-term contract ending 18 November 2022, renewable subject to performance reviews. During her tenure, she also acted as Corporation Secretary. The applicant alleged her immediate supervisor refused to conduct performance appraisals for two years despite her requests. On 17 November 2022, she was informed by circularised Board Resolution dated 10 November 2022 that her contract would not be renewed. She challenged the decision by judicial review, alleging the Board had been dissolved by Presidential directive dated 3 October 2022 and that she was denied a fair hearing. The respondents stated the applicant's performance was unsatisfactory, that a new Board was properly constituted after clarification by the Minister on 17 October 2022, and that the applicant failed to indicate acceptance of a new contract offer under prevailing terms.

Issues

  1. Whether the affidavit in rejoinder was filed within time?
  2. Whether the application is amenable for judicial review?
  3. Whether the decision of the Respondents was tainted with illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety?
  4. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

  • Application dismissed with costs to the Respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Amenability — Public Bodies Exercising Public Authority
An application for judicial review is amenable where the challenged decision is made by a public body exercising public authority, even if the underlying relationship is contractual, provided the matters raised involve public law principles (legality, rationality, propriety) and are of interest to other employees and the public at large.
Judicial Review — Exhaustion of Remedies — Labour Disputes Raising Public Law Questions
Where a dispute involving a public body raises questions of public law rather than purely private employment rights, the applicant is not required to exhaust remedies under the Employment Act before seeking judicial review, and petitioning the employer's board and relevant minister satisfies the exhaustion requirement.
Grounds of Illegality — Presidential Directives — Force of Law
For a Presidential directive to have the force of law, it must comply with Article 99 of the Constitution by being based on a Statutory Instrument made by the President, authenticated by the responsible Minister, and published in the Uganda Gazette. A directive by way of recommendation to a Minister acquires force only when the Minister takes action pursuant to it.
Fixed-Term Contracts — Renewal — Legitimate Expectation
A fixed-term employment contract does not create a legitimate expectation of renewal. Where renewal is expressly made subject to periodic performance appraisals under the contract and HR manual, failure to meet this condition precludes any claim based on legitimate expectation, and the employee cannot sustain a claim merely because the appraisals were not conducted if they failed to escalate the issue before contract expiry.
Fixed-Term Contracts — Non-Renewal — Duty to Provide Hearing
Unless expressly stated in the employment contract or the employer's HR manual, an employer has no duty to give a hearing to an employee before declining to renew a fixed-term contract. The employer retains discretion whether to renew and is not obliged to disclose reasons for non-renewal absent a contractual requirement.
Affidavits — Time for Filing Rejoinder — Interlocutory Applications
In an interlocutory application determined on the basis of affidavits, where the Civil Procedure Rules do not provide specific timelines, an affidavit in rejoinder may be filed late provided: (i) the late filing does not occasion delay in the hearing, and (ii) no substantial prejudice is caused to the respondent that cannot be cured by costs. The court may exercise discretion under Order 51 Rule 6 CPR to allow late filing in such circumstances.

Legislation cited (11)

Cases cited (12)

  • Stop and See (U) Ltd v Tropical Africa Bank Ltd (HCMA No. 333 of 2010)
  • Dr. Lam Lagoro v Muni University (HCMC No. 007 of 2016)
  • Ssekaana Musa, Public Law in East Africa, P. 37 (2009) Law Africa Publishing, Nairobi
  • Leads Insurance Company Ltd v Insurance Regulatory Authority (CACA No. 237 of 2015)
  • Attorney General v Yustus Tinkasimmire & Others (CACA No. 208 of 2013)
  • Kuluo Joseph Andrew & Others v Attorney General & Others (HCMC No. 106 of 2010)
  • ACP Bakaleke Siraji v Attorney General (HCMC No. 212 of 2018)
  • Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for Civil Service [1985] AC 375
  • Male Mabirizi Kiwanuka v Attorney General (HCMC No. 194 of 2021)
  • Council of Civil Service Unions & Others v Minister for the Civil Service [1985] AC 374
  • Joseph Mwangala Mugabi v Uganda Revenue Authority (HCMC No. 87 of 2021)
  • Transparency International Kenya v Teresa Carlo Omondi (Civil Appeal No. 81 of 2018) [2023] KECA 174

Full judgment

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Atwine v Uganda Railways Corporation and Another (Misc Cause 264 of 2022) [2024] UGHCCD 104 (18 June 2024)
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.