Wakilii

Male Mabirizi v Attorney General (MISCELLANEOUS CAUSE NO. 238 OF 2019)

High Court · [2019] UGHCCD 234 · 2019 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Judicial review application challenging presidential appointments to Uganda Police Force and legality of Local Defence Unit
Decision
Application for judicial review dismissed with costs to the Respondent

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court dismissed an application for judicial review challenging the President's appointment of four UPDF officers to senior Uganda Police Force positions and the legality of the Local Defence Unit. The Court held that Article 172(1)(a) of the Constitution vests the President with power to appoint persons to public service positions including the Uganda Police Force, and that the appointments followed lawful procedure. The Court further held that the LDU constitutes a reserve force under sections 4 and 5 of the UPDF Act, lawfully established pursuant to Article 17(2) of the Constitution requiring citizens to undergo military training for national defence.

Outcome

Application for judicial review dismissed with costs to the Respondent

Facts

The applicant, Male H. Mabirizi K. Kiwanuka, filed a judicial review application challenging two executive actions. First, on 2 July 2019, the Inspector General of Police communicated that the President had appointed four UPDF officers (Brigadier Sam Bakasumba, Brigadier Godfrey Golooba, Colonel Jese Kamunannwire, and Colonel Sserunjogi Ddamulira) to senior positions in the Uganda Police Force, assigning them the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police. The applicant contended that the President lacked constitutional authority to appoint UPDF personnel to police positions and assign police ranks. Second, the applicant challenged the recruitment, training, deployment, and maintenance of the Local Defence Unit (LDU), an armed force allegedly raised outside constitutional authority. The Respondent Attorney General countered that the President acted within his constitutional powers under Article 172(1)(a), that the appointments followed proper procedure including ministerial requests for secondment and appointment letters from Public Service, and that the LDU constitutes a lawful reserve force under the UPDF Act.

Issues

  1. Whether the Respondent's affidavit in reply was properly before the Court having been filed out of time
  2. Whether the appointment of four officers of the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces into Uganda Police Force is lawful
  3. Whether the recruitment of Local Defence Unit (LDU) personnel is lawful
  4. Whether the Applicant is entitled to any remedies

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the Respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Time Limits — Extension of Time for Government
Under Regulation 11 of the Civil Procedure (Government Proceedings) Rules S.I 77-1, Government has thirty days to file a defence in civil proceedings, substituting the fifteen days prescribed under Order 8 Rule 1(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules. The Court retains discretion under section 96 of the Civil Procedure Act to extend time even after the prescribed period has expired, particularly in matters of great public importance where the Respondent required time to seek instructions from multiple government agencies.
Executive Powers — Presidential Appointment Powers — Public Service
Article 172(1)(a) of the Constitution vests the President with power to appoint persons to hold or act in any office in the public service of the rank of head of department or above, acting in accordance with advice of the Public Service Commission. This power is not fettered by any requirement that appointees must already be serving members of the institution to which they are appointed. The President may appoint any person, including serving UPDF officers, to senior positions in the Uganda Police Force.
Constitutional Interpretation — Delegation of Powers — Police Appointments
Section 13 of the Police Act provides for delegation by the President of appointment powers to the Police Council and Inspector General under Article 172(3) of the Constitution. This delegation does not divest the President of the underlying constitutional power to make appointments. The President may exercise appointment powers directly without seeking advice from the Police Authority, as the Police Authority's powers are themselves delegated from the President.
Armed Forces — Reserve Forces — UPDF Act — Local Defence Units
Section 4 of the UPDF Act provides that the Force shall consist of a regular force and a reserve force. Section 5 provides that sources of reserve forces include auxiliary forces, state security organisations, and citizens who have undergone military training under Article 17(2) of the Constitution. Local Defence Unit personnel, being citizens with military training exercising their civic duty under Article 17(2) of the Constitution, constitute a lawful reserve force and do not amount to an armed force raised in contravention of Article 208(4) of the Constitution.
Judicial Review — Remedies — Discretion — Burden of Proof
Prerogative orders in judicial review are discretionary and must be exercised judicially according to well-settled principles including common sense, justice, merit, reasonableness, and vigilance. Where an applicant alleges improper procedure in a challenged decision but fails to adduce evidence rebutting the respondent's documentary evidence showing compliance with procedure, judicial review remedies will be denied.

Legislation cited (32)

Cases cited (8)

  • Kaye v Attorney General (Constitutional Application No. 25 of 2012)
  • Akankwasa v Registrar of Titles (HCMC No. 33 of 2008)
  • Attorney General v. Tinkasiimire & 12 Ors at page 49
  • Barugahare v. The Board of Directors of Uganda Printing & Publishing Corporation & Anor at page 58
  • Karuhanga v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No. 39 of 2013)
  • ACP Bakaleke Siraj v Attorney General (Miscellaneous Application No. 212 of 2018)
  • THE PROSECUTOR V. PAULINE NYIRAMASUHUKO & ORS, International criminal tribunal for Rwanda case No. ICTR-98-42-A
  • Amiran Enterprises Ltd v Uganda Revenue Authority (HCMA No. 06 of 2010)

Full judgment

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Male Mabirizi v Attorney General (MISCELLANEOUS CAUSE NO. 238 OF 2019) [2019] UGHCCD 234 (20 December 2019)
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.