Wakilii

Nyanzi v Makerere University (MISCELLANEOUS CAUSE NO. 304 OF 2018)

High Court · [2020] UGHCCD 164 · 2020 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Judicial review application arising from non-implementation of Staff Appeals Tribunal orders
Decision
Application allowed with declaration of contempt, mandamus order issued, and general damages awarded

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that Makerere University was in contempt of its Staff Appeals Tribunal's orders to reinstate the applicant to her position as Research Fellow, pay her salary and benefits, and consider her promotion application. The court found that the respondent's officers acted irregularly and irrationally by circumventing the Tribunal's decision through subsequent claims that the applicant's contract had expired. An order of mandamus was issued compelling the respondent to implement the Tribunal's decision, and general damages of UGX 120,000,000 were awarded for the embarrassment, inconvenience and psychological torture caused by the continued contemptuous disregard.

Outcome

Application allowed with declaration of contempt, mandamus order issued, and general damages awarded

Facts

Dr. Stella Nyanzi was appointed as a Research Fellow at Makerere Institute of Social Research. She was suspended on 31 March 2017 for allegations of misconduct and appealed to the Makerere University Staff Appeals Tribunal. The Tribunal ruled in her favour on 16 October 2017 and again on 2 October 2018, ordering her reinstatement, payment of salary and benefits, and consideration of her promotion application. Despite these orders, the university failed to implement the Tribunal's decision. The university's Appointments Board claimed her five-year contract had expired and was never renewed, and therefore she could not be reinstated to a non-existent vacancy. The applicant maintained she had been offered permanent and pensionable employment, confirmed on 28 October 2013. She brought this judicial review application seeking declarations of contempt and mandamus to compel implementation of the Tribunal orders.

Issues

  1. Whether the Respondent acted in contempt of the orders of the Staff Tribunal.
  2. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

  • Declaration that the Respondent was in contempt of the ruling and orders of the Staff Appeal Tribunal.
  • Order of mandamus issued compelling the Respondent officers to comply with their statutory duty to implement the decision of the Tribunal to the letter.
  • Any timelines set in the Tribunal decision that have since lapsed shall be treated to take effect from the date of this decision.
  • General damages of UGX 120,000,000 awarded to the Applicant.
  • Interest of 10% per annum on the general damages awarded from the date of this ruling till payment in full.
  • Costs of this application awarded to the Applicant.

Rules and key headnotes

Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Scope and Purpose — Supervisory Jurisdiction over Inferior Tribunals
Judicial review is the process by which the High Court exercises its supervisory jurisdiction over the proceedings and decisions of inferior courts, tribunals and other bodies or persons who carry out quasi-judicial functions, or who are engaged in the performance of public acts and duties which may affect the rights or liberties of citizens. In judicial review, the Court is not hearing an appeal from the decision itself but reviewing the manner in which the decision was made.
Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Grounds for Grant — Illegality, Irrationality and Procedural Impropriety
Judicial review can be granted on three grounds: illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety.
Administrative Law — Mandamus — Requirements — Clear Legal Right and Statutory Duty
Before an order of mandamus can be granted, the applicant must show a clear legal right to have the thing sought done, and done in the manner and by the person sought to be coerced. The duty whose performance is sought must be actually due and incumbent upon that person or body, purely statutory in nature, plainly incumbent by operation of law or by virtue of office, and concerning which no discretionary powers exist. There must be a demand and refusal to perform the act.
Employment & Labour — Appeals Tribunals — Institutional Purpose — Protection of Fairness and Prevention of Impunity
The purpose of an appeals tribunal in an institution is to give a forum to staff members to challenge the decisions of their employers before an impartial body within the institutional structure. Such right of appeal is a cardinal tenet for the principles of fairness and justice, and the tribunal is one of the institutional structures to prevent impunity.
Employment & Labour — Appeals Tribunals — Implementation of Decisions — Duty of Employer
An employer which has established a staff appeals tribunal has an overarching duty to implement the decisions of that tribunal. It is not within the employer's powers to cherry-pick which decisions to implement and which to circumvent. Officers who overtly or covertly refuse to implement tribunal decisions are in contempt of the tribunal.
Administrative Law — Contempt of Tribunal — Circumvention of Tribunal Decisions — Irregular and Unreasonable
Where an employer, after failing to obtain a desired outcome from its appeals tribunal, resorts to finding ways of circumventing the tribunal's decision by raising issues already clarified by the tribunal and acting in defiance of the tribunal decision, such conduct is irregular, irrational and unreasonable.

Legislation cited (4)

  • Judicature (Judicial Review) Rules 2009 r.3
  • Judicature (Judicial Review) Rules 2009 r.6
  • Judicature (Judicial Review) Rules 2009 r.7
  • Judicature (Judicial Review) Rules 2009 r.8

Cases cited (4)

  • Kuluo Joseph Andrew and Others v Attorney General and Others (Miscellaneous Cause No. 106 of 2010)
  • Rosemary Nalwadda v Uganda Aids Commission (HCMA No. 0045 of 2010)
  • [1885] AC 374
  • Semwo Construction Company v Rukungiri District Local Government (HC MC 30 of 2010)

Full judgment

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

Nyanzi v Makerere University (MISCELLANEOUS CAUSE NO. 304 OF 2018) [2020] UGHCCD 164 (11 June 2020)
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.