Living with illegalities is unacceptable

By Prof George W. Kanyeihamba
Posted 


Sunday, January 3  

2016 at 

02:00

In recent years, it has become increasingly obvious that most Ugandans are living under unacceptable and illegal decisions, acts and behaviour.

Many of us have published or given professional opinions and advice on these illegalities. Without reaction or remedial action on these from those responsible, they are numerous other examples to justify the statement.

Recently, two corrupt head teachers were sacked for mismanagement. They had fraudulently sold land belonging to the school.

The purported buyers not having bothered to discover whether the owners had authority to sale, demanded that the school transfers the land to them.

This is actually a government-owned school and any transaction affecting its property needs to be sanctioned by the board of governors and the ministry of Education.

Following the departure of the two head teachers, persons claiming to be the buyers of the land demanded that it is transferred to them or else they would sue the school.
Naturally, the school refused to comply with the demand because the normal procedure for selling school property, if at all, is for management to first convince school governors on the necessity to obtain additional funds for running the school by selling the property which is not needed for other purposes for the time being.

The next drama occurred when school management received notice that auctioneers had been instructed to sell the land by public auction. The notice indicated the date and venue when the auction would take place.

Attached to it was a magistrate’s court order authorising the sale, but not based on any existing legal suit or judgment.

Perhaps, pre-empted by the desire to be paid expenses, the auctioneer did not check whether its customer had any document justifying the auction.

He seemed to have rushed to the Chief Magistrate’s Court and falsely claimed that the alleged sellers were genuine. Surprisingly, the magistrate’s court issued the order asked for.

Instead of challenging all these illegalities using local authorities, including the Kabale education office, the school management instructed Kampala lawyers to file a suit and stop the sale.
Following the analysis of the letter, the lawyers discovered that the court order was illegal and the magistrate had either been deceived or compromised. They advised the management to take local remedial actions which the law allows them.

The above is a classic example of what has happened and continues to happen to Ugandans, the laws and public authorities to enforce them, notwithstanding.

The other day Fred Ruhindi, the Attorney General; the principal government Legal adviser and first chief guardian of the Constitution, was seen on television fumbling in vain to present an illegal Bill in Parliament on the orders of his colleague Frank Tumwebaze, the Minister for the Presidency.

After a barrage of protests from the public and the legal fraternity, Ruhindi was forced to withdraw the Bill.

It should have been the Attorney General advising Tumwebaze or Cabinet or the President on the law and not the other way round.