Wakilii

Businge and 9Others v Buliisa District Local Government and 2 Others (Misc Cause 22 of 2022)

High Court · [2024] UGHC 946 · 2024 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review challenging a district council resolution to establish a new cultural institution
Decision
Application dismissed with costs; parties may pursue traditional dispute resolution avenues

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court dismissed the application for judicial review challenging a district council resolution to establish a new cultural institution. The court held that the 2nd and 3rd Respondents had immunity from proceedings under local government regulations. The application was found premature for failure to exhaust internal dispute resolution mechanisms under the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act s.16, which requires conflicts about whether a community should have a traditional leader to be handled first by a council of elders. The Applicants failed to prove that the resolution was passed without quorum or outside permissible hours.

Outcome

Application dismissed with costs; parties may pursue traditional dispute resolution avenues

Facts

On 31 August 2022, Buliisa District Local Government Council held a sitting where the District Chairperson moved a motion to establish the Bagungu Cultural/Traditional Institution known as Butebbengwa, which was unanimously approved. The Applicants, who are district councillors, challenged this resolution on grounds that it amounted to secession from the Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom and was passed without quorum and outside permissible working hours of 8:00am to 5:00pm. The Respondents denied that the resolution constituted secession and maintained that proper quorum was present with 21 of 29 members attending, and that the meeting ended at 5:30pm because of the volume of business. The minutes of the 31 August 2022 meeting were confirmed and approved at a subsequent council meeting on 31 October 2022 attended by most Applicants.

Issues

  1. Whether the 2nd and 3rd Respondents have immunity from court action under Regulation 13(i) of the Local Government Councils Regulations.
  2. Whether the 1st Respondent, Buliisa District Local Government, has legal capacity to be sued.
  3. Whether the application for judicial review was filed within the prescribed limitation period.
  4. Whether the Applicants exhausted available remedies under Section 16 of the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act before seeking judicial review.
  5. Whether the council resolution of 31 August 2022 to establish the Bagungu Cultural/Traditional Institution was passed without quorum.
  6. Whether the council sitting on 31 August 2022 was held outside permissible working hours.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the Respondents.
  • Parties have the option of considering traditional avenues of resolution in accordance with traditions, customs and norms of the Bagungu community under s.16 of the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Immunity of Local Council Members — Local Government Councils Regulations
Under Regulation 13(i) of the Local Government Councils Regulations in the 3rd Schedule to the Local Government Act Cap. 243, no civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted against a member of a local government council by reason of anything said in the council by petition or otherwise, and such immunity protects members from court action for decisions arising from council sittings.
Local Government — Legal Personality — Capacity to Sue and Be Sued
Under Section 6 of the Local Government Act Cap. 243, every local government is a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue or be sued in its corporate name as the proper party designation.
Judicial Review — Limitation Period — Flexible Application
While Rule 5(1) of the Judicature Review Rules 2009 requires judicial review applications to be filed within three months from when grounds first arose, time limits are intended to ensure expeditious determination rather than oust court jurisdiction, and where the decision-making process involves multiple stages such as confirmation of minutes at a subsequent meeting, time runs from the date of final confirmation rather than the initial resolution.
Judicial Review — Exhaustion of Remedies — Prematurity
Under Rule 7A of the Judicature (Judicial Review) (Amendment) Rules 2019 and Section 16 of the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act 2011, an application for judicial review challenging whether a community should have a traditional or cultural leader is premature if the applicant has not first exhausted internal dispute resolution mechanisms by referring the matter to a council of elders or representative body chosen by the community in accordance with traditions, customs and norms.
Local Government — Council Procedures — Extension of Sitting Hours
Under Rule 12(2)(b) and (3) of the Local Government Act Standard Rules of Procedure 2019, while council sittings are ordinarily prescribed to be held between 8:00am and 5:00pm, the speaker may, having regard to the state of business, direct that sitting be held outside the prescribed period.

Legislation cited (19)

Cases cited (8)

  • Sustainable Development Capital LLP vs Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy & Anor [2017] EWHC 771
  • Kuluo Joseph Andres and Others v Attorney General and Others (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 106 of 2010)
  • Counsel of Civil Services Unions Vs Minister for Civil Service [1985] A.C 374
  • Erias Lukwago v Jenifer Musisi (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 116 of 2011)
  • Shamur Production LLC Ltd v Uganda Revenue Authority (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 29 of 2021)
  • Clear Channel Independent (U) Ltd v Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 156 of 2008)
  • Dr James Lagoro v Muni University (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 7 of 2016)
  • Godfrey Yiga v Entebbe Municipal Council and Another (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 207 of 2015)

Full judgment

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

Businge and 9Others v Buliisa District Local Government and 2 Others (Misc Cause 22 of 2022) [2024] UGHC 946 (25 September 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.