Wakilii

Oyiki and Others v Kampala University (Misc Cause No. 129 of 2022)

High Court · [2022] UGHCCD 211 · 2022 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Judicial review application seeking mandamus and prohibition orders to compel graduation and recognition of students from a suspended study centre
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 a judicial review application by 921 South Sudanese students seeking to compel Kampala University to graduate them from its Juba study centre. The court held that while the matter was amenable to judicial review, the applicants failed to establish grounds of illegality, irrationality, or procedural impropriety. The university had formally suspended the Juba centre in 2017 pending registration with South Sudanese authorities, and the applicants produced no evidence that the suspension was lifted or that the university was aware of or party to subsequent admissions.

Outcome

Application for judicial review dismissed with costs to the respondent

Facts

921 South Sudanese students were admitted to Kampala University's College of Juba study centre between 2016 and 2022. In January 2017, the university suspended the centre pending registration with South Sudanese authorities. The applicants claimed they paid fees, completed academic requirements, and were cleared for the university's 23rd graduation ceremony on 23 June 2022. When they travelled to Kampala for graduation, the university denied them external clearance and refused to graduate them, asserting it had no knowledge of their admission or studies after the suspension. The applicants sought mandamus and prohibition orders to compel graduation and recognition. The university maintained the suspension was never lifted as registration was never obtained, and it was not responsible for activities at the centre after suspension.

Issues

  1. Whether the case is amenable for judicial review?
  2. Whether the application raises sufficient grounds for judicial review?
  3. Whether the Applicants are entitled to the reliefs sought?

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the Respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Amendment Without Leave — Time Limits
Under Order 6 rule 20 of the Civil Procedure Rules, a plaintiff or applicant may amend the plaint or notice of motion once without leave of court within twenty-one days from the date of issue of summons or within fourteen days from the filing of the written statement of defence or affidavit in reply.
Civil Procedure — Affidavits — Amendment of Affidavits — Formal Amendments
While affidavits cannot be amended because they contain evidence, a purely formal amendment that does not alter the substance of the evidence and occasions no miscarriage of justice may be overlooked and does not render the affidavit incurably defective.
Civil Procedure — Supplementary Affidavits — Time for Filing — Leave of Court
Where pleadings have not closed in a matter proceeding by way of affidavit evidence, a party may file supplementary affidavits without leave of court provided they are filed before the matter comes up for hearing and the opposite party has opportunity to respond. The cut-off point for filing supplementary affidavits without leave is determined by closure of pleadings.
Judicial Review — Amenability — Private Universities — Public Functions
For a matter to be amenable to judicial review, it must involve a public body in a public law matter. The body under challenge must be a public body whose activities can be controlled by judicial review, and the subject matter must involve claims based on public law principles rather than enforcement of private law rights.
Judicial Review — Exhaustion of Remedies — Rule of Discretion — Exceptions
The rule of exhaustion of alternative remedies is a rule of discretion and not one of compulsion. The court may exercise its discretionary jurisdiction of judicial review despite availability of an alternative remedy where the application seeks enforcement of fundamental rights, where there is failure of natural justice, or where orders or proceedings are wholly without jurisdiction. The exercise of discretion is stricter where the challenge is premised on merits rather than the decision-making process.
Judicial Review — Grounds — Illegality, Irrationality, Procedural Impropriety
Judicial review is concerned not with the decision on its merits but with the decision-making process. A public authority acts unlawfully if it makes a decision without legal power to do so (illegality), so unreasonably that no reasonable decision-maker could have come to the same decision (irrationality), or without observing the rules of natural justice (procedural impropriety or unfairness).
Judicial Review — Representation — Lifting of Suspension by Implication
A formal suspension of operations communicated to administrators and stakeholders cannot be lifted by implication, especially where the condition precedent for lifting the suspension has not been fulfilled. An applicant cannot rely on alleged representation by a respondent where there is no proof that the respondent was aware of or party to activities undertaken after the suspension.

Legislation cited (15)

Cases cited (8)

  • Henry Byansi v Nkumba University (HCMC No. 31 of 2017)
  • Dr. Isaac Wanzige Magoola v MUBS and Another (HCMC No. 424 of 2019)
  • Surgipharm (U) Ltd v Uganda Investment Authority and Another (HCMC No. 65 of 2021)
  • John Ssentongo v Commissioner Land Registration and Others (HCMC No. 13 of 2019)
  • Salim Alibhai and Others v Uganda Revenue Authority (HCMC No. 123 of 2020)
  • Attorney General v Yustus Tinkasimire and Others (CACA No. 208 of 2013)
  • Kuluo Joseph Andrew and Others v Attorney General and Others (HCMC No. 106 of 2010)
  • ACP Bakaleke Siraji v Attorney General (HCMC No. 212 of 2018)

Full judgment

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

Oyiki and Others v Kampala University (Misc Cause No. 129 of 2022) [2022] UGHCCD 211 (19 October 2022)
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.