Wakilii

Kayiira v Rugumayo (Constitutional Case 1 of 1979)

Court of Appeal · [1980] UGCA 2 · 1980 Declarations Partly Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance representative declaratory suit heard by the Court of Appeal sitting as a Constitutional Court
Decision
Some of the declarations sought were granted and others refused; the removal of Professor Lule was held to be a non-justiciable political question

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Sitting as a Constitutional Court, the Court of Appeal held that the 1967 Constitution, as modified by Legal Notice No. 1 of 1979 and related decrees, is the supreme law of Uganda, and that the UNLF Constitution and Moshi Minutes are political documents not incorporated into law. The President had sole power to appoint Ministers without NCC ratification. The removal of Professor Lule was effected by the NCC acting as a political organ of the UNLF and was a non-justiciable political question. The Court declared the NCC, as a legislature, had no power to remove the President, but declined to declare his removal unconstitutional. Legal Notice No. 2 of 1979 was void.

Outcome

Some of the declarations sought were granted and others refused; the removal of Professor Lule was held to be a non-justiciable political question

Facts

In March 1979 exiled Ugandan groups met at the Moshi Unity Conference in Tanzania and formed the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF), with three organs including the National Consultative Council (NCC). After Amin's fall in April 1979, the UNLF assumed governmental power with Professor Lule as President. Under Legal Notice No. 1 of 1979, Chapters IV and V of the 1967 Constitution were suspended and all legislative power vested in the NCC. On 19–20 June 1979 the NCC met at State House, Entebbe, where a motion of no confidence in Professor Lule, as Chairman of the National Executive Committee, was passed by 18 votes to 14, removing him from office and thus from the Presidency. The plaintiffs, original NCC members, brought a representative declaratory suit challenging the constitutional basis of his removal and seeking declarations regarding the supremacy of the Constitution, the power of appointment of Ministers, and the powers of the NCC.

Issues

  1. Whether the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1967 is the supreme law of Uganda, as against the UNLF Constitution and the Minutes of the Moshi Unity Conference.
  2. Whether the power to make ministerial appointments vested solely in the President or required ratification and approval by the National Consultative Council.
  3. Whether the procedure followed in removing Professor Lule as Chairman of the National Executive Committee and President of Uganda was unconstitutional.
  4. Whether the National Consultative Council had power to remove the President from office.
  5. Whether, when deciding matters of national interest, the National Consultative Council must sit as the legislature and be governed by the Constitution of Uganda.

Orders

  • Declaration issued that the Constitution of Uganda of 1967 (as by law established) is the supreme law of Uganda and the UNLF Constitution and Moshi Minutes are not law.
  • Declaration issued that the power to make ministerial appointments vested solely in the President and the National Consultative Council had no power to ratify or approve such appointments.
  • Court declined to declare that the procedure followed in removing Professor Lule was unconstitutional.
  • Declaration issued that the National Consultative Council, acting as a legislature, had no power to remove the President from office.
  • Court declined to issue a declaration that the NCC must sit as a legislature when deciding matters of national interest.
  • Each party to bear its own costs (with Manyindo J. and Odoki J. so ordering; Asthana J. ordering defendants to pay costs of the second plaintiff).

Rules and key headnotes

Constitutional Law — Supremacy of the Constitution — Hierarchy of Norms
The Constitution of Uganda, as by law established, is the supreme law of the land, and any other law inconsistent with it is void to the extent of the inconsistency; political instruments of association such as a party constitution and conference minutes are subject to the law and do not form part of it unless incorporated by statute.
Constitutional Law — Revolutionary Legality — Validity of a New Legal Order
A victorious revolution is an internationally recognised legal method of changing a constitution; the new legal order established by such a revolution becomes the basic law-creating fact from which the validity of all other laws is determined.
Constitutional Law — Executive Power — Appointment of Ministers
Where a proclamation vests the President with power to appoint a cabinet of Ministers without any requirement of ratification, the power to make ministerial appointments vests solely in the President and cannot be fettered by a non-statutory party constitution requiring approval by another body.
Constitutional Law — Justiciability — Political Questions
A question relating to the possession of political power or sovereignty, such as the removal of a leader by a political organ acting under its own party constitution, is a non-justiciable political question that the courts will decline to adjudicate.
Statutory Interpretation — Construction of a Constitution — Plain and Ordinary Meaning
A constitution is to be construed in the same way as any other legislative enactment: where the words used are precise and unambiguous they must be given their ordinary and natural meaning, and reports of conferences or instruments of political association are not admissible to influence its construction.
Constitutional Law — Delegated Legislative Power — Ultra Vires Legal Notice
Where legislative power has been vested exclusively in a legislative body, a purported amendment to that legislation issued solely by the executive without compliance with the prescribed legislative process is null and void and of no legal effect.

Legislation cited (20)

Cases cited (11)

  • Uganda v Commissioner of Prisons, ex parte Matovu [1966] EA 514
  • Luther v Borden (1849) 7 How 1
  • The State v Dosso and Another (1958) 2 PSCR 180
  • Asma Jilani v Government of Punjab PLD 1972 SC 139
  • Madzimbamuto v Lardner-Burke [1968] 1 AC 645
  • Shah v Attorney General (No.2) [1970] EA 523
  • Semu Kiseka Mukwaba & Others v. Daudi Musoke Mukubira & Others 7 ULR 74
  • Katikiro of Buganda v Attorney General of Uganda [1959] EA 582
  • Attorney General of Uganda v Kabaka's Government [1965] EA 393
  • Keshavan Madhava Menon v State of Bombay (1951) SCR 228
  • Suleiman Fakir Mohamed v A.J. Hindoo [1957] EA 789

Full judgment

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

Kayiira v Rugumayo (Constitutional Case 1 of 1979) [1980] UGCA 2 (21 October 1980)
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.