Wakilii

Mugisha v Uganda Law Society & 7 Others (Miscellaneous Cause 263 of 2024)

High Court · [2025] UGHCCD 14 · 2025 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Judicial review application challenging internal governance decisions of Uganda Law Society
Decision
Application for judicial review granted; impugned decisions of both the Secretary and the Council quashed; status quo ante restored with President, Vice President, and Secretary remaining in their elected positions.

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 5 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 5 times with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The High Court granted certiorari quashing both the Secretary's purported expulsion of the Uganda Law Society President and Vice President and the Council's retaliatory suspension of the Secretary and a Council member. The Court held that neither the Secretary individually nor a Council majority possessed statutory authority under the Uganda Law Society Act to suspend or expel elected Council members. Such power resides exclusively with the general membership. The Court further held that the Council meeting of 24 November 2024 was improperly convened without fair notice and in breach of procedural requirements, rendering all consequent decisions—including the appointment of an interim Secretary and the notice for an extraordinary general meeting—ultra vires and void.

Outcome

Application for judicial review granted; impugned decisions of both the Secretary and the Council quashed; status quo ante restored with President, Vice President, and Secretary remaining in their elected positions.

Facts

On 28 September 2024, the Uganda Law Society held elections returning Isaac Ssemakadde as President, Asiimwe Anthony as Vice President, and Munaabi Phillip (3rd respondent) as Honorary Secretary, among other Council members. On 23 November 2024, the Secretary purported to expel the President and Vice President following controversy over the President's issuance of executive orders (including excluding the Attorney General and Solicitor General from Council) and allegedly unbecoming conduct. In retaliation, on 24 November 2024, the President convened an online meeting of six Council members which purportedly suspended the Secretary and the Central Region Representative and appointed Eddie Nangulu (2nd respondent, an elected Eastern Region Representative) as Interim Secretary. The newly appointed Interim Secretary then issued a notice on 25 November 2024 calling for an Extraordinary General Meeting on 17 December 2024 to elect representatives to the Judicial Service Commission and to consider removal of the suspended members. The applicant, a Uganda Law Society member, challenged these actions by judicial review.

Issues

  1. Whether the Council governing the affairs of the Uganda Law Society is duly constituted.
  2. Whether the decision by the 3rd respondent dated 23rd November 2024 expelling Isaac K. Ssemakadde and Asiimwe Anthony as president and vice president of the 1st respondent respectively was illegal and/or ultra vires.
  3. Whether the decision of the 1st respondent purported Council dated 24th November 2024 suspending the 3rd respondent and Turyamusiima Geoffrey as Council members was illegal and/or ultra vires.
  4. Whether the meeting of the 1st respondent's Council dated 24th November 2024 was unlawful, irregular and procedurally improper.
  5. Whether a decision by the 1st respondent's Council appointing the 2nd Respondent as an Interim Honorary Secretary is ultra vires and/or illegal.
  6. Whether a notice dated 25th November 2024 calling for an extra ordinary general meeting of the 1st Respondent signed by the 2nd respondent is illegal, null and void.
  7. Whether the applicant is entitled to any reliefs.

Orders

  • An order of Certiorari issues quashing the decision of the 3rd respondent expelling Isaac K. Ssemakadde and Asiimwe Anthony as President and Vice President of the 1st respondent respectively.
  • An order of Certiorari issues quashing the decision of the 1st respondent's purported Council dated 24th November 2024 suspending Munaabi Phillip [3rd Respondent] and Turyamusiima Geoffrey and appointing the 2nd respondent as an interim honorary Secretary of the 1st respondent.
  • An order of certiorari issues quashing and or setting aside the notice of the ULS Extraordinary General meeting dated 25th November 2024 issued by the 1st respondent.
  • A declaratory order is issued to the effect that any 'executive orders' issued without a proper council resolution are illegal and null and void, and therefore of no legal consequence.
  • A declaration that the decision by the 1st respondent's purported Council appointing the 2nd respondent an Interim Honorary Secretary is ultra vires and or illegal AND that the Notice dated 25th November 2024 calling for an Extra Ordinary General Meeting signed by the 2nd respondent is illegal, null and void.
  • Costs of this Application be borne by all the respondents equally.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Illegality — Ultra Vires — Exercise of Power Without Statutory Authority
A public body acts ultra vires and illegally when it exercises a power not conferred by its enabling statute. Under the Uganda Law Society Act, neither the Council nor any individual Council member (including the Secretary or President) is empowered to suspend or expel elected Council members. Such power resides exclusively with the general membership in a properly convened meeting. Actions taken in purported exercise of non-existent powers are void and of no legal effect.
Statutory Interpretation — Composition of Statutory Bodies — Mandatory Provisions
Section 9 of the Uganda Law Society Act prescribes in mandatory terms the composition of the Council and requires that members (other than ex officio members) be elected annually by the society in general meeting. A Council constituted otherwise than in accordance with this mandatory provision lacks proper authority to transact business, and decisions made by an improperly constituted Council are unlawful.
Procedural Fairness — Audi Alteram Partem — Right to be Heard Before Adverse Action
Procedural fairness is mandatory in all cases where administrative action is to be taken which affects a person's rights. The right to be treated fairly and justly is enshrined in Article 42 of the Constitution. The suspension of Council members without according them notice or an opportunity to be heard constitutes a breach of procedural fairness, rendering the decision illegal even if the body had possessed substantive authority to make it.
Judicial Review — Procedural Impropriety — Failure to Comply with Mandatory Procedural Requirements
Where a statute or governing instrument prescribes a mandatory procedure for the convening of meetings and transaction of business, failure to comply with such procedure renders the meeting and any decisions made thereat unlawful and procedurally improper. A Council meeting convened on one day's notice without circulation of agenda and papers as required by the Uganda Law Society Charter, and without notice to all Council members, is improperly constituted and its decisions are void.
Remedies — Certiorari — Effect of Quashing Order
The effect of certiorari is to confirm that the impugned decision is a nullity and to deprive it of all legal effect. Once a decision has been proved to be illegal, the resulting certiorari quashes the ultra vires decision and deprives the public body's act of any legal basis, restoring the position as if the void decision had never been made.
Judicial Review — Illegality — Creation of Offices Not Provided for by Statute
A public body acts ultra vires when it purports to create and appoint a person to an office not provided for by its enabling statute. The Uganda Law Society Act does not provide for the office of 'Interim Secretary', and the purported appointment of a person to such office is illegal and void. Further, a Council member cannot lawfully hold two portfolios simultaneously where the governing statute contemplates single appointments.
Judicial Review — Illegality — Executive Orders Without Statutory or Council Authority
Where a statutory body's enabling Act vests powers in the Council collectively and not in the President individually, any 'executive orders' issued by the President without a proper Council resolution are ultra vires, illegal, null and void, and of no legal consequence. The President of the Uganda Law Society does not possess any special statutory powers to act unilaterally or to issue executive orders in violation of the Uganda Law Society Act.

Legislation cited (18)

Cases cited (6)

  • Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service [1985] AC 374
  • Roberts v Chairman, Local Road Transportation Board (1980) 2 SA 480 (C)
  • R v Aston University Senate ex p Roffey [1969] 2 QB 558
  • R v Secretary of State for Health ex p Furneaux [1994] 2 All ER 652
  • Cooks v Thanet District Council [1983] 2 AC 286
  • Kalali Steven v Uganda Law Society (Miscellaneous Cause No. 129 of 2023)

Cases citing this judgment (5)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

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

Mugisha v Uganda Law Society & 7 Others (Miscellaneous Cause 263 of 2024) [2025] UGHCCD 14 (14 February 2025)
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.