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Galandi v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition 4 of 2021)

Constitutional Court · [2025] UGCC 2 · 2025 Petition Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Constitutional petition under Article 137(3) of the Constitution challenging the Court of Appeal's failure to expeditiously determine an election petition appeal.
Decision
Petition succeeded on the second issue; declarations granted that the Court of Appeal's delay contravened Articles 126(2) and 140(2). Remaining issues not determined; no costs awarded.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Constitutional Court held that the petition raised genuine questions of constitutional interpretation and was properly brought under Article 137(3). On the merits, the Court found that the Court of Appeal's failure to hear and determine Election Petition Appeal No. 53 of 2016 over more than four years — within the 2016–2021 election cycle — was inconsistent with and contravened Articles 126(2) and 140(2), which require expeditious determination of electoral matters and the setting aside of all other business for that purpose. The right to a fair hearing under Article 28(1) entails a speedy hearing, a non-derogable right under Article 44. The petition succeeded; the Court declined to address the remaining issues and made declarations accordingly, with each party bearing its own costs.

Outcome

Petition succeeded on the second issue; declarations granted that the Court of Appeal's delay contravened Articles 126(2) and 140(2). Remaining issues not determined; no costs awarded.

Facts

Following the parliamentary elections of 18 February 2016, Herbert Tom Kinobere was declared the elected Member of Parliament for Kibuuku County Constituency. A registered voter challenged the election in the High Court at Mbale and succeeded, with Kinobere declared unqualified. Kinobere filed Election Petition Appeal No. 53 of 2016. The appeal was first heard on 28 March 2017, but a panel member retired in September 2017 before judgment. A reconstituted panel reheard it on 4 October 2018, but a member was elevated to Chief Justice in August 2020 before judgment. On 4 December 2020 the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal as having abated, reasoning that reconstituting a fresh panel near the close of the 2016–2021 election cycle would be an exercise in futility and moot. The Petitioner, a self-described public-spirited citizen who was not a party to the appeal, petitioned the Constitutional Court contending that the Court of Appeal's failure to determine the appeal expeditiously contravened the Constitution.

Issues

  1. Whether the Petition raises a cause of action and the Petitioner has locus standi.
  2. Whether the failure by the Court of Appeal to expeditiously determine Election Petition Appeal No. 53 of 2016, or in any case within six months from filing, contravened Articles 1(4), 2(1) & (2), 3(4)(a), 126(2)(b) and 140(1) & (2) of the Constitution.
  3. Whether the failure by the Respondent to supervise and require Justice Stephen Kavuma (DCJ) to clear pending matters before vacating office contravened Articles 1(3) & (4) and 144(1)(c) of the Constitution.
  4. Whether the Court of Appeal's finding that the appeal had abated contravened Articles 1(3) & (4) and 140 of the Constitution.
  5. Whether the Petitioner is entitled to the remedies prayed for.

Orders

  • The omission by the Court of Appeal to hear and determine Election Petition Appeal No. 53 of 2016 within the 2016-2021 election cycle was inconsistent with and contravened Articles 126(2) and 140(2) of the Constitution.
  • The omission to determine the appeal within the 2016-2021 election cycle implied that the people of Kibuuku County were for that period represented in Parliament by a person whose qualifications had been declared inadequate to hold such an office.
  • Each party shall bear its own costs for the petition.

Rules and key headnotes

Constitutional Law — Constitutional Court Jurisdiction — When a question of constitutional interpretation arises
For the Constitutional Court to be clothed with jurisdiction under Article 137, the petition must require the court to interpret the meaning of a constitutional provision; a constitutional question arises where resolving the cause requires ascertaining the meaning of specific constitutional provisions and how they apply in a particular context.
Electoral Law — Election Petition Appeals — Constitutional duty of expeditious determination under Article 140(2)
The Court of Appeal is constitutionally bound under Article 140(2) to hear and determine election petition appeals expeditiously and to set aside all other business for that purpose; failure to determine such an appeal within the election cycle to which it relates contravenes Articles 126(2) and 140(2) of the Constitution.
Human Rights — Right to a Fair Hearing — Speedy hearing as a non-derogable right
The right to a fair hearing under Article 28(1) entails a speedy hearing and, being non-derogable under Article 44, must be taken into account by courts in managing election petition appeals.
Electoral Law — Abatement of Election Appeals — Consequence of judicial delay
Where a court fails to determine an election petition appeal within the election cycle and dismisses it as abated on grounds of mootness, the effect is that the electorate is, for that period, represented by a person whose qualifications were declared inadequate, undermining the sovereign will of the people under Article 1(4).

Legislation cited (22)

Cases cited (7)

  • Attorney General v Major General David Tinyefuza (Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 1997)
  • Mbabali Jude v Edward Kiwanuka Sekandi (Constitutional Petition No. 28 of 2012)
  • Ismail Serugo v Kampala City Council & Attorney General (Constitutional Appeal No. 2 of 1998)
  • Paul K. Semogerere & Another v Attorney General (Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 2000)
  • Okello-Okello John Livingstone & Others v Attorney General & Another (Constitutional Petition No. 4 of 2005)
  • Kubeketerya v Waira Kyewalabye & Electoral Commission (Election Petition Appeal No. 97 of 2016)
  • Ayena Odongo Krispas Charles v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No. 38 of 2017)

Full judgment

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

Galandi v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition 4 of 2021) [2025] UGCC 2 (18 February 2025)
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.