Prime
Lack of respect for court orders worrying
On November 25, 2013, then minister for Kampala Affairs, Frank Tumwebaze, convened a councillors’ meeting of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), to impeach Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago from office. Lukwago had been accused and found guilty of misconduct, abuse of office and incompetence.
Moments before the councillors impeached Lukwago, his lawyers had secured a court order from the High Court, blocking the intended exercise. One of Lukwago’s lawyers , Abdullah Kiwanuka (now MP-elect for Mukono North), was flogged and beaten at City Hall main gate and prevented from serving the said court order on the minister and stop the impeachment exercise.
Somehow, Allan Ssewanyana, a councillor then and current MP for Makindye East, managed to get the copy of the court order and fought his way to serve the minister. He was humiliated, beaten and thrown out of City Hall without formally serving the court order to the minister.
Despite the spirited attempts by the two individuals to serve the minister with a court order, the councillors impeached Mr Lukwago and he was locked out of office for the remaining part of his term in office.
Another recent defiance seen in not obeying a court order involved the suspended Judiciary permanent secretary, Kagole Kivumbi.
On December 15, 2020, the High Court in Kampala ruled that the indefinite leave that had been imposed on Mr Kagole 15 months ago, was in the initial stages justified, but it had since become illegal.
Presiding judge Musa Ssekaana went on to order the lifting of the said indefinite leave that had been imposed against Kagole.
Three months down the road, Head of Civil Service Dr John Mitala, has not implemented the court’s order to reinstate Kagole to his job or posted to a new assignment.
These examples are among the several court orders that are either ignored or not implemented. Failure to implement court orders render the existence of courts meaningless. This is because if litigants can’t enjoy the fruits of their labour, then what is the use of going courts of law?
The growing trend of non-implementation of court orders by government officials, implies a vote of no confidence in the courts of law.
This should be a worrying trend because it might leave the angry litigants resorting to mob action. The same trend has seen the Executive not implementing orders of the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, especially in the Patrick Amama Mbabazi election petition against President Museveni.
The Supreme Court in 2016 made at least 10 recommendations that it thought would better future elections in Uganda. Unfortunately, the recommendations have not been implemented, five years down the road.
Some of the recommendations include time for filing and determination of a presidential election petition being increased from 30 to at least 60 days; the use of oral evidence in addition to affidavit evidence being accepted in court; time for holding a re-election where the previous elections has been nullified be increased from the currently prescribed 20 days.
Others are use of technology in elections be backed by law; sanctions against any State organ or officer, who violates provisions of the law with regard to access to State-owned media be provided and election-related law reform be undertaken within two years of the establishment of the new Parliament.
How can one enforce a court order? According to Step-by-Step Guide by Action 4 Justice Uganda, once you have obtained an order from court (sometimes called an injunction), you may need to take steps to ensure it is obeyed or enforced.
They further advise that if you feel a court order is not being complied with, the first question to ask is whether or not the order is enforceable. This, they say is because sometimes a court order needs further action or may even require another court order to be enforceable.
Action 4 Justice Uganda also explains that some orders are fairly general while others are quite precise and that the more precise and detailed the order, the easier it is for the person against whom it is made to know what they must do or not do. They also advise that if you have obtained a court order which is enforceable, and if there is a clear breach of the court order, the breaching party may be committing a criminal offence or may be in “contempt of court.”
This could lead to prosecution. On implementation of court order, declaring or clarifying legal rights or establishing legal facts, Action 4 Justice Uganda says such a court order turning something into practical use, may require further action or pressure at a political or administrative level to ensure that the necessary procedures or framework are in place.
Mr Wesaka is a senior court reporter with Nation Media Group-Uganda.
