Wakilii

In the matter of an application for winding up the Uganda Communications Employees’ Contributory Pension Scheme by SDS & Company, Certified Public Accountants (Miscellaneous Applic

High Court · [2024] UGCommC 1439 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ex parte application for certificate of urgency to hear a winding up petition during court vacation
Decision
Certificate of urgency issued to enable hearing of winding up petition during vacation

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court granted a certificate of urgency to hear the winding up petition during vacation. The expiry of the Applicant's appointment as interim administrator on 22 July 2024 without determination of the petition would render the petition nugatory and cause loss to scheme members through lack of management of outstanding assets.

Outcome

Certificate of urgency issued to enable hearing of winding up petition during vacation

Facts

SDS & Company were appointed by URBRA as interim administrators of the Uganda Communications Employees' Contributory Pension Scheme (UECPS) from 21 March 2023, with the appointment due to expire on 22 July 2024 without possibility of renewal. On 20 May 2024, the Auditor General issued a qualified opinion that the scheme was a non-going concern and not capable of being revived. The interim administrator paid accrued retirement benefits to members and issued a report on 18 June 2024 recommending the scheme be wound up. On 24 June 2024, the Applicant filed Winding Up Petition No. 25 of 2024 seeking orders to wind up the scheme and be nominated to realise and manage its assets. The Applicant then filed this ex parte application seeking a certificate of urgency to hear the winding up petition during court vacation before the expiry of the interim administration appointment.

Issues

  1. Whether a certificate of urgency should be granted to hear Winding Up Petition No. 25 of 2024 during court vacation.
  2. Whether the circumstances of the matter constitute urgency warranting the court to hear civil business during vacation.

Orders

  • Certificate of urgency granted for the hearing of Winding Up Petition No. 25 of 2024 during Court vacation.
  • Application partially granted.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Court Vacation — Certificate of Urgency — Test for Urgency
Urgency does not only relate to threats to life and limb; urgency of commercial interests may justify approaching the court on an urgent basis. To be treated as urgent, the applicant must establish imminent danger to existing rights and possibility of irreparable harm. The matter believed to be urgent must be a matter of substance rather than form, the court must be satisfied that the matter sought to be brought to its attention during vacation prima facie has merit, and there should be a realistic prospect that the matter intended to be brought to court is arguable.
Civil Procedure — Court Vacation — Civil Business During Vacation — Rule 4 Judicature (Court Vacation) Rules
During vacation the court shall deal with criminal business but shall not sit for the discharge of civil business other than such civil business as shall in the opinion of the presiding judge be of an urgent nature. The applicant must explicitly set out the circumstances which render the matter urgent and the reason why substantial relief cannot be afforded in a hearing in due course after vacation.
Company Law — Winding Up — Pension Schemes — Expiry of Interim Administrator's Appointment
Where an interim administrator of a pension scheme has been appointed with a fixed term that is due to expire, and a winding up petition filed by that administrator remains undetermined, the expiry of the appointment without determination of the petition will render the petition nugatory as the applicant will have no locus to petition for winding up. This constitutes sufficient urgency to warrant hearing of the petition during court vacation.

Legislation cited (3)

Cases cited (1)

  • Lakony Jaikan v Gulu District Service Commission (Miscellaneous Application No. 0110 of 2018)

Full judgment

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

In_the_matter_of_an_application_for_winding_up_the_Uganda_Communications_Employees’_Contributory_Pension_Scheme_by_SDS_&_Company,_Certified_Public_Accountants_(Miscellaneous_Applic
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.