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Mugarura v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No. 23 of 2009)

Constitutional Court · [2015] UGCC 5 · 2015 Petition Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Constitutional petition challenging the appointment and parliamentary approval of Electoral Commission members
Decision
Petition dismissed; the appointment and approval of the Electoral Commissioners upheld as constitutional

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The petitioner challenged the President's reappointment of the Electoral Commission chairperson, deputy and members, and Parliament's approval, as contravening Article 60 of the Constitution. The Constitutional Court held the petition disclosed a matter for constitutional interpretation, but the petitioner bore and failed to discharge the burden of proving the commissioners lacked integrity, considerable experience or demonstrated competence; their CVs and electoral record showed the contrary. The Court further held that Article 90 and Parliament's Rules validly delegated approval of nominees to the Appointments Committee, so referral to the whole House under Article 89 was unnecessary. The continued occupation of office was therefore lawful. The petition was dismissed, each party bearing its own costs.

Outcome

Petition dismissed; the appointment and approval of the Electoral Commissioners upheld as constitutional

Facts

In August 2009 the President recommended the reappointment of Badru Kiggundu as Chairperson and Joseph Biribonwa as Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, and the appointment of Tom Buruku, Jenny Okello, Stephen Ongaria and Christine Mugabi as members. The names were forwarded to Parliament's Appointments Committee, which approved them. Dan Mugarura, claiming to be an aggrieved person, petitioned the Constitutional Court alleging the appointees lacked the proven integrity, considerable experience and demonstrated competence in the conduct of public affairs required by Article 60(2), pointing to past electoral shortcomings and court decisions that nullified elections. He also contended that approval by the Appointments Committee, rather than by the whole House under Article 89, was unconstitutional. The respondent relied on the commissioners' professional qualifications, their conduct of a 2005 multiparty referendum and the many elections held since 2006 (of which only a small fraction were nullified), and their international election-observation experience to show they met the constitutional standard.

Issues

  1. Whether the petition discloses a matter for constitutional interpretation by the court.
  2. Whether the President's appointment of the Electoral Commission chairperson, deputy chairperson and members is inconsistent with or contravenes Article 60(2) of the Constitution.
  3. Whether the approval of the appointments by the Appointments Committee of Parliament is inconsistent with or contravenes Article 60(1) and (2) of the Constitution.
  4. Whether the continued occupation of office by the appointed commissioners is inconsistent with or contravenes Article 60 of the Constitution.
  5. Whether the petitioner is entitled to the reliefs prayed for.

Orders

  • Petition dismissed for lack of merit.
  • Each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Constitutional Law — Constitutional Petitions — Disclosure of a Matter for Interpretation
A constitutional petition discloses a matter for interpretation under Article 137(3) where it shows the act complained of, the articles of the Constitution alleged to have been contravened, and the reliefs sought.
Electoral Law — Electoral Commission — Qualifications of Members under Article 60(2)
To qualify as a member of the Electoral Commission a person must have high moral character and proven integrity, considerable experience in the conduct of public affairs, and demonstrated competence in the conduct of public affairs; the absence of these attributes must be proved by the person challenging the appointment.
Evidence — Burden of Proof — He Who Alleges Must Prove
A petitioner alleging that an appointee lacks moral character or integrity must plead and prove clear particulars; a bare averment that the petitioner is unaware of the nominee's integrity does not discharge the burden, and the appointing authority is then presumed to have been satisfied of the nominee's fitness.
Constitutional Law — Parliamentary Committees — Delegation of Power to Approve Appointments
Article 90 empowers Parliament to prescribe by its rules of procedure the powers, composition and functions of its committees, and the Rules of Procedure validly mandate the Committee on Appointments to approve presidential nominees on behalf of Parliament without referral to the whole House.
Statutory Interpretation — Constitutional Construction — Plain and Purposive Meaning
Where the words of the Constitution are clear and unambiguous they must be given their primary, plain, ordinary or natural meaning; only where the language is imprecise or ambiguous should a liberal, generous or purposive interpretation be adopted.
Constitutional Law — Separation of Powers — Internal Functions of Parliament
The approval of a nominee for public office is an internal democratic function of Parliament with which the court will not interfere, provided it is exercised within the confines of the Constitution and the Rules of Parliament.

Legislation cited (11)

Cases cited (6)

  • Baku Raphael v Attorney General (Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 2003)
  • P.K. Ssemwogerere & Others v Attorney General (Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 2002)
  • Jacob Oulanya v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No. 25 of 2006)
  • Attorney General VS Major General David Tinyefuza
  • Kizza Besigye v Electoral Commission and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (Election Petition No. 1 of 2006)
  • Kamba Saleh v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No. 38 of 2012)

Full judgment

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

Mugarura v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No. 23 of 2009) [2015] UGCC 5 (29 September 2015)
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.