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Lutakome Kayira & Ssemwogerere v Rugumayo and 2 Others (Constitutional Case 1 of 1979)

Court of Appeal · [1980] UGCA 1 · 1980 Declarations Partly Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance representative constitutional suit seeking declarations, brought in the Court of Appeal sitting as a Constitutional Court
Decision
Some declarations granted, others refused; plaintiffs partially successful. Each party to bear own costs.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court declared the 1967 Constitution (as modified by Legal Notice No. 1 of 1979 and related decrees) the supreme law of Uganda, and that the UNLF Constitution and Moshi Minutes were political documents not incorporated into law. It held that power to appoint Ministers vested solely in the President and the NCC had no legal power to ratify such appointments. The Court declined to declare Professor Lule's removal unconstitutional, holding the NCC acted as a political organ of the UNLF and that the removal was a non-justiciable political question. It declared that the NCC, sitting as a legislature, had no power to remove the President, and declined the remaining declarations as too vague.

Outcome

Some declarations granted, others refused; plaintiffs partially successful. Each party to bear own costs.

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). Professor Y.K. Lule was elected Chairman of the National Executive Committee. After Idi Amin's regime fell on 11 April 1979, the UNLF assumed government, with Lule as President. Under Legal Notice No. 1 of 1979, Chapters IV and V of the 1967 Constitution were suspended and all legislative powers vested in the NCC. The NCC demanded that Lule submit his ministerial and political appointments for ratification. At a meeting at State House, Entebbe, on 19-20 June 1979, a motion of no confidence in Lule as Chairman of the NEC was passed by 18 votes to 14, removing him and consequently from the presidency. The two plaintiffs, original NCC members, brought a representative suit seeking declarations on the constitutional validity of these events.

Issues

  1. Whether the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda of 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, with the National Consultative Council having no power to ratify or approve such appointments.
  3. Whether the procedure followed in removing Professor Lule as Chairman of the National Executive Committee, and thus as President, 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 a legislature governed by the Constitution.
  6. Whether the removal of the President was a justiciable matter or a non-justiciable political question.

Orders

  • Declaration issued that the Constitution of Uganda of 1967 is the supreme law of Uganda and that the UNLF Constitution and the Moshi Minutes are not part of the law of Uganda.
  • Declaration issued that the power to make ministerial appointments vested solely in the President and the National Consultative Council had and has no legal power to ratify or approve such appointments.
  • Declaration that the procedure used to remove Professor Lule was unconstitutional refused.
  • Declaration issued that the National Consultative Council, sitting as a legislature, had and has no power to remove the President from office.
  • Declaration that the NCC must sit as a legislature when deciding matters of national interest refused.
  • Legal Notice No. 2 of 1979 declared null and void and of no legal effect.
  • Each party to bear its own costs (with an order that the defendants jointly and severally pay the costs of the second plaintiff in Asthana J's judgment).

Rules and key headnotes

Constitutional Law — Supremacy of the Constitution — Status of political instruments not incorporated into law
The 1967 Constitution, as modified by the Proclamation in Legal Notice No. 1 of 1979 and related decrees, is the supreme law of Uganda; the UNLF Constitution and the Minutes of the Moshi Unity Conference are political documents of association that have not been transformed into or incorporated in any law and are therefore not part of the law of Uganda.
Constitutional Law — Revolution and Legal Order — Validity of a new legal order following a victorious revolution
A victorious revolution is an internationally recognised legal method of changing a constitution; the Proclamation published under Legal Notice No. 1 of 1979 constituted a new legal order having the force of law, and the validity of all other laws must be determined by reference to that new order.
Constitutional Law — Executive Power — Presidential power to appoint Ministers
Under Legal Notice No. 1 of 1979 the power to appoint Ministers vested solely in the President; the National Consultative Council had no legal power to ratify or approve such appointments, any such power under the UNLF Constitution being political rather than legal and incapable of fettering the President's executive powers under the Constitution.
Constitutional Law — Legislative Power — Validity of presidential proclamations after vesting of legislative power in another body
Once all legislative powers were vested in the National Consultative Council by Legal Notice No. 1 of 1979, the President had no authority to legislate; Legal Notice No. 2 of 1979, purporting to amend Legal Notice No. 1 and issued by the President without being passed by the NCC, was made in contravention of the existing law and is null and void.
Constitutional Law — Justiciability — Political questions
The removal of a President effected by a political organ acting under a political instrument of association raises a question relating to the possession of political power and is a non-justiciable political question into which the courts will decline to inquire.
Statutory Interpretation — Construction of a Constitution — Ordinary and natural meaning of clear words
A Constitution is to be construed in the same way as any other legislative enactment where the words used are precise and unambiguous, namely in their ordinary and natural sense; reports of conferences and political instruments of association are not admissible to influence its construction.

Legislation cited (14)

Cases cited (13)

  • Uganda v. Commissioner of Prisons ex parte Matovu (1966) E.A 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) Supreme Court 139
  • Madzimbamuto v. Lardner Burke (1966) 1 A.C. 645
  • Shah v. Attorney General (No.2) (1970) E.A. 523
  • Semu Kiseka Mukwaba & Others v Daudi Musoke Mukubira & Others 7 ULR 74
  • Katikiro of Buganda v Attorney General of Uganda (1959) E.A. 582 (C.A.) and (1960) E.A. 784 (H.C.)
  • Attorney General of Uganda v Kabaka's Government (1965) E.A. 393
  • Keshava Menon v State of Bombay (1951) S.C.R. 223
  • Suleiman Fakir Mohamed v. A.J. Hindoo (1957) E.A. 789
  • Eastman Photographic Co. v Controller General of Patents (1898) A.C. 573-576
  • Assam Railways and Trading Co. Ltd. v. Inland Revenue Commissioners (1935) A.C. 458

Full judgment

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Lutakome Kayira & Ssemwogerere v Rugumayo and 2 Others (Constitutional Case 1 of 1979) [1980] UGCA 1 (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.