Wakilii

Kalanzi and Another v Attorney General and 2 Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 659 of 2021)

High Court · [2021] UGHCCD 270 · 2021 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for temporary injunction to restrain criminal investigations and prosecution pending disposal of judicial review application
Decision
Application for temporary injunction dismissed

Observed later treatment

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Holding

Held that a temporary injunction should not be granted to restrain the Director of Public Prosecutions and Uganda Police from exercising their constitutional mandate to investigate and prosecute alleged criminal offences. There is no legal bar stopping criminal investigations or prosecution on the basis of the existence of related civil proceedings. Courts must not grant injunctions that suspend the operation of constitutional functions absent a prima facie case that the public authority is acting unlawfully.

Outcome

Application for temporary injunction dismissed

Facts

The applicants (Isaiah Kalanzi and Richard Nsubuga, an advocate) were under criminal investigation by Uganda Police for alleged forgery of letters of administration to an estate and uttering false documents. A 90-year-old complainant, Rosemary Joyce Wanyana Wasswa, alleged her signature was forged on documents presented in the Court of Appeal. The applicants filed a judicial review application challenging the investigations, then sought a temporary injunction to halt the criminal investigations and prosecution pending determination of the judicial review. The police had recorded statements from the applicants as suspects and submitted the file to the DPP. The applicants argued they were suffering double jeopardy as the matters were also before the Law Council, High Court, and Court of Appeal. They contended the investigations were sub judice and an abuse of process.

Issues

  1. Whether a temporary injunction should issue to restrain the respondents from carrying out criminal investigations and prosecution pending determination of the judicial review application.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Temporary Injunctions — Injunctions Against Public Bodies — Constitutional Mandate
Courts should not grant temporary injunctions restraining the Director of Public Prosecutions or Uganda Police from exercising powers conferred by the Constitution under Articles 120(3) and 212 unless the applicant establishes a prima facie case that the public authority is acting unlawfully.
Criminal Investigations — Parallel Civil and Criminal Proceedings — No Legal Bar
There is no legal bar stopping the police or the Director of Public Prosecutions from investigating or prosecuting suspected criminal offences on the basis of the existence of related civil proceedings in a related matter. Civil proceedings are individualistic in nature while criminal proceedings are public in nature, and administrative policy gives priority to the public interest in law enforcement.
Temporary Injunctions — Public Interest Considerations — Judicial Discretion
Public interest is a paramount and relevant consideration in granting or refusing a temporary injunction. Courts should be slow in granting injunctions against public authorities executing statutory functions, and should be reluctant to restrain a public body from doing what the law allows it to do, as such injunctions may suspend the operation of legislation.
Judicial Review — Interim Relief — Standard of Proof
Public bodies should not be prevented from exercising powers conferred under statute unless the person seeking an injunction can establish a prima facie case that the public authority is acting unlawfully. The public body is deemed to have taken the decision in exercise of powers meant for the public good.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (8)

  • Regent Oil Co Ltd v JT Leavesley (Lichfield) Ltd [1966] 1 WLR 1210
  • Equator International Distributors Ltd v Beiersdorf East Africa Ltd & Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 1127 of 2014)
  • Yahaya Kariisa v Attorney General & Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 7 of 1994)
  • Agenda v Uganda HCT CR-CM 003 of 2011
  • Esso Standard Ltd v Mike Nabudere (High Court Civil Suit No. 594 of 1990)
  • Uganda National Bureau of Standards v Ren Publishers Ltd & Multiplex Limited (Miscellaneous Application No. 635 of 2019)
  • R v Secretary of State for Transport ex p Factortame Ltd [1990] 2 AC 85
  • Alcohol Industry Association of Uganda & Others v Attorney General & URA (Miscellaneous Application No. 744 of 2019)

Full judgment

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

Kalanzi and Another v Attorney General and 2 Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 659 of 2021) [2021] UGHCCD 270 (10 December 2021)
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.