Wakilii

Gordon Sentiba and 2 Others vs Inspector of Government (Civil Appeal No 14 of 2007)

Court of Appeal · [2008] UGCA 4 · 2008 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from a High Court ruling dismissing a preliminary objection in a review application
Decision
Appeal dismissed; High Court ruling overruling the preliminary objection upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the High Court's refusal to strike out the Inspectorate of Government's application to review a consent judgment. Section 19(1)(a) and (c) of the Inspectorate of Government Act did not bar the Inspectorate from moving the court to review its own decision, since it is the court, not the Inspectorate, that conducts the review. The Inspectorate is an independent constitutional body with capacity to sue and be sued, and as an aggrieved party under section 82 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 46 could seek review even though not a party to the suit. Defects in the affidavits, including omission of the place in the jurat, were mere technicalities not fatal to the application.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed; High Court ruling overruling the preliminary objection upheld

Facts

The appellants were former shareholders of Nyanza Textile Ltd who sued the Attorney General in a representative capacity for compensation arising from the divestiture of Nytil. The suit culminated in a consent judgment on 21 January 2007. On 15 January 2007 the appellants obtained a garnishee nisi order against Stanbic Bank to attach money from the Divestiture Account. Before the order could be made absolute, the Inspectorate of Government applied to the High Court to review or set aside the consent judgment, contending it was likely to cause financial loss to government and prejudice shareholders left out, amounting to abuse of office. At the hearing of Miscellaneous Application No. 65 of 2007, the appellants raised preliminary objections that the application was statute barred under section 19(1)(a) and (c) of the Inspectorate of Government Act, that the Inspectorate lacked locus standi, and that the supporting affidavits were defective. The High Court (Kasule J.) overruled the objections on 16 March 2007, and the appellants appealed.

Issues

  1. Whether the respondent's application to set aside the consent judgment was statute barred under section 19(1)(a) and (c) of the Inspectorate of Government Act.
  2. Whether the respondent had locus standi to file the application for review.
  3. Whether the application could be sustained despite allegedly defective affidavits.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed with costs to the respondent in this Court and in the trial court.

Rules and key headnotes

Inspectorate of Government — Section 19(1) Limitation on Investigations — Application to Court for Review
Section 19(1)(a) and (c) of the Inspectorate of Government Act does not bar the Inspectorate from moving a court to review or set aside its own decision, because in such a case it is the court, not the Inspectorate, that conducts the review; the Inspectorate merely adduces evidence for the court to consider.
Inspectorate of Government — Capacity to Sue and Locus Standi
The Inspectorate of Government is an independent body created by the 1995 Constitution with the capacity to sue and be sued, and may, in performance of its constitutional and statutory duty to prevent corruption and protect government from loss, have locus standi to seek review of a judgment even where it was not a party to the original proceedings.
Review of Judgments — Standing of Aggrieved Non-Party
Under section 82 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 46 Rules 1 and 2, any aggrieved party may move the court to review a judgment, and such an aggrieved party need not necessarily have been a party to the original proceedings.
Affidavits — Defective Jurat — Effect of Technical Defects
Failure to state the place where an affidavit was sworn in the jurat, contrary to section 6 of the Oaths Act, is a mere technicality that will not defeat the affidavit where the place can be ascertained from the body of the affidavit, since substantive justice must be administered under Article 126(2)(e) of the Constitution.
Affidavits — Preparation by Public Officers
The restriction under section 66(1)(a) of the Advocates Act on unqualified persons preparing documents does not apply to public officers, so an affidavit drawn by a Ministry rather than the Attorney General is not thereby rendered incompetent.

Legislation cited (19)

Cases cited (7)

  • Inspector General of Government v Kikonda Butema Farm Ltd and Attorney General (Constitutional Application No. 13 of 2006)
  • Ladak Abdullah Mohamed Hussein v Griffiths Isingoma Kakiiza & 2 Others (Civil Appeal No. 8 of 1995)
  • Muhamed Allibhai v Bukenya Musoke & Departed Asian Property Custodian Board (Civil Appeal No. 56 of 1996)
  • Kabagambe Asol & 2 Others v Electoral Commission and Dr. Kizza Besigye (Constitutional Petition No. 1 of 2006)
  • Mbogo v Shah (1969) EA 93
  • Jacques v Harrison (1883-4) 12 AC 165
  • Employers Liability Assurance Corporation Ltd v Sedgwick Collins and Company Ltd (1927) AC 95

Full judgment

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Gordon Sentiba and 2 Others vs Inspector of Government (Civil Appeal No 14 of 2007) [2008] UGCA 4 (27 March 2008)
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.