Wakilii

Ssentamu Halidi and 5 Others v Makerere University (Miscellaneous Cause No.23 of 2017)

High Court · [2018] UGHCCD 300 · 2018 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review seeking certiorari, prohibition, and mandamus to challenge cancellation of university admissions
Decision
Application for judicial review dismissed; university's decision to cancel applicants' admissions upheld

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Holding

The High Court dismissed an application for judicial review challenging cancellation of university admissions, holding that students bear responsibility for ensuring accurate information is submitted during application regardless of alleged system flaws, and that the university acted reasonably in cancelling admissions where students' true CGPA scores fell below the required minimum for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery programme.

Outcome

Application for judicial review dismissed; university's decision to cancel applicants' admissions upheld

Facts

Six applicants applied online for admission to Makerere University's Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery programme and were initially admitted. Following a separate student's request for name correction that revealed a CGPA discrepancy, the university investigated diploma holders' admissions. The applicants were invited to show cause why their admissions should not be cancelled on grounds of misrepresentation, falsification of documents, and giving false or incomplete information. At meetings on 20 October 2016 and 21 March 2017, it was discovered that the applicants' submitted CGPA scores (ranging from 4.69 to 4.83) significantly exceeded their true CGPA scores (ranging from 3.29 to 3.64, with two not classified). The minimum CGPA requirement for the programme was 4.00. The university's Ad Hoc Committee cancelled their admissions on grounds of using forged documents. The applicants claimed they used the university's online application system and were assisted by an unnamed person at a tent near the Senate building, leaving him with scanned copies and photocopies of their transcripts.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants raise any grounds for judicial review.
  2. Whether the applicants are entitled to the remedies sought in the application.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Burden of Proof — Applicant's Responsibility
In judicial review proceedings, the burden lies on the applicant to ensure that all relevant information and documents submitted to an administrative body are accurate and complete, regardless of the method of submission or alleged flaws in the application system.
Judicial Review — Grounds — Rationality/Reasonableness — Standard of Review
A decision is irrational or unreasonable only when there has been such gross unreasonableness in the decision taken or act done that no reasonable authority addressing itself to the facts and law before it would have made such a decision; such a decision must be in defiance of logic and acceptable moral standards.
Administrative Law — University Admissions — Qualification Requirements — Advertisement Interpretation
Where an advertisement for university admissions directs applicants to additional sources for specific course requirements, an institution acts within its discretion in applying those requirements even where not fully detailed in the initial advertisement; applicants bear the obligation to ascertain complete requirements from the indicated sources.
Judicial Review — Scope of Review — Decision-Making Process versus Merits
Judicial review is concerned not with the decision itself but with the decision-making process through which the decision was made, exercising the court's supervisory jurisdiction to check and control the exercise of power by those in public offices or bodies exercising quasi-judicial functions.

Legislation cited (8)

  • Judicature Act s.36
  • Judicature (Judicial Review) Rules 2009 r.3(1)(a)
  • Judicature (Judicial Review) Rules 2009 r.6
  • Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act 2001 s.45(1)
  • Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act 2001 s.45(2)
  • Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act 2001 s.45(3)
  • Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act 2001 s.46(3)
  • Civil Procedure Act s.27

Cases cited (4)

  • John Jet Mwebaze v Makerere University Council and 2 Others (Miscellaneous Cause No. 353 of 2005)
  • DOTT Services Ltd v Attorney General (Miscellaneous Cause No. 125 of 2009)
  • Balondemu David v The Law Development Centre (Miscellaneous Cause No. 61 of 2016)
  • Council of Civil Unions Vs Minister of the Civil Service [1985] AC 374

Full judgment

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

Ssentamu Halidi and 5 Others v Makerere University (Miscellaneous Cause No.23 of 2017) [2018] UGHCCD 300 (13 July 2018)
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.