President Museveni will tomorrow Wednesday, May 12, 2021, swear in for a new five-year term. This is after the Supreme Court confirmed his victory upon allowing the main contender, Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine during the January 14 polls to withdraw his petition.
Kyagulanyi withdrew his petition after Museveni’s lawyers and those who represented the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Attorney General filed responses in defense of Museveni’s victory.
In the same vein, judges dismissed four of the applications filed by Kyagulanyi’s lawyers which also favoured Museveni.
The CEO East Africa Magazine brings you who is who among those who participated in the conduct of the matter leading to the May 12 swearing in event at Kololo.
MUSEVENI’S LEGAL TEAM
Ebert Byenkya
He is the founder of M/s Byenkya, Kihika & Company Advocates. He commands a rich heritage of over 25 years in providing modern, cutting edge, prompt and solution-oriented legal services to its domestic and International clients.
Byenkya was the lead counsel at the Commission of Inquiry into land matters and the former chairman of Makerere University Staff Tribunal.
He represented President Museveni in two previous presidential election petitions filed by Dr Kizza Besigye in 2001 and 2006.
Byenkya was also part of the legal team that represented Museveni in the 2016 election petition that was filed by former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi.
Kiryowa Kiwanuka
Kiryowa commonly known as KK is a talented litigation lawyer having successfully represented clients in many of the country’s landmark commercial disputes and heads the firm’s dispute resolution department.
In 2019, Kiryowa represented the ruling NRM in the Constitutional case in which eleven MPs were challenging a resolution by the Central Executive Committee of the ruling National Resistance Movement-NRM Party endorsing President, Museveni as their sole presidential candidate for the 2021 elections.
He was one of the lawyers who represented Museveni in the 2016 election petition filed by former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi.
In 2015, Kiwanuka represented NRM in defeating an application in the Constitutional court that sought to block the approval of NRM’s new secretariat office bearers by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
The application was filed by Benjamin Alipanga, a graduate student of Psychology and Education Sciences at Kent University.
In 2013, Kiwanuka represented 17 KCCA councilors who accused Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago of abuse of office, incompetence and misbehavior before a Justice Catherine Bamugemereire-led tribunal.
In 2001, Kiwanuka represented then Mbarara municipality parliamentary contender Yusuf Ngoma Ngime against her opponent Winnie Byanyima of the Reform Agenda.
After his defeat by Byanyima in the hotly-contested election, Ngoma-Ngime through Kiwanuka wanted a vote recount but High court judge Musoke Kibuuka rejected his prayer.
Kiryowa is one of the founding partners of the K&K Advocates in October 2001.
Edwin Karugire
Karugire, a son-in-law to President Museveni, is most of the time seen advising lawyers who were presenting arguments before the judges. He was part of the legal team that represented Museveni in the 2016 election petition filed by the former premier Amama Mbabazi.
Karugire is one of the founding partners of K&K Chambers and heads the firm’s busy transactions department. With over 17 years of experience in Commercial and Corporate Law, Karugire led the firm transactions team in two of the biggest telecommunication acquisitions in Uganda. He has also handled a number of cross border Joint Venture transactions in the Technology, FMCG, Pharmaceuticals, Media, Security Printing, Agriculture and Manufacturing sectors.
In addition to corporate transactions, he has many years of experience in licensing and regulatory compliance for diverse sectors and in commercial litigation.
EC LAWYERS
Peter Kabatsi
Kabatsi is currently the senior Partner at one of the leading law firm, Kampala Associated Advocates (KAA) where he jointly heads the litigation department. He has had a long career in the legal profession and has been afforded the opportunity to serve in various legal positions both locally and internationally. Locally, he has served as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Solicitor General between 1990 and 2002.
He has and continues to successfully represent several local and international clients in a variety of sectors, including oil and gas, telecommunications as well as public bodies, and government agencies.
As Solicitor General, he was also the legal advisor and representative of the government in all matters at a national and international level; he worked as the principal legal officer for the Government and all its bodies and organisations. He also handled all civil matters brought to the government and gave legal opinions on all government contracts. He too, led many Ugandan delegations in bilateral and multilateral negotiations including country negotiations with IMF, the World Bank as well as other International Organisations and Arbitrations.
He has participated in all the last four presidential election petitions.
He is also on the list of counsel eligible to practice before the International Criminal Court (ICC). This list was created to ensure that persons implicated in proceedings before the court benefit from effective legal representation. Additionally, he is an attorney and notary in the kingdom of Lesotho where he is also served as principal crown counsel.
Kabatsi is lawyer for high profile officials like the former Inspector of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura before the military and city tycoon, Sudhir Ruparelia in a commercial dispute case against Crane Bank in liquidation.
Peter has practiced law internationally as well, holding several leadership positions on global bodies such as the United Nations International Law Commission (ILC)- the body of experts that is mandated with codifying and developing international law, where he served in various capacities, including President, Vice President and Rapporteur. He has also provided legal counsel to various committees and commissions of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), United Nations African Institute for Crime Prevention and Treatment of Offenders (UNAFRI), and the Bamako Convention on the Trans Boundary Movement of Toxic Wastes and Hazardous Substances. In 1991, he was a member of the Committee of Experts for the review of the Montreal Protocol on the ozone layer, Rio de Janeiro Brazil.
Peter is also on the list of Counsel eligible to practice before the International Criminal Court and an attorney and notary in the Kingdom of Lesotho where he also served as Principal Crown Counsel. He is also qualified to practice in the courts of Rwanda.
Joseph Matsiko
Matsiko is the managing partner at the Kampala Associated Advocates and a co-head of the litigation department.
He is a versatile and distinguished lawyer with a noteworthy career spanning over 25 years. Before he joined KAA, Matsiko served as a state attorney in the Justice ministry where he rose to the rank of director of civil litigation. He has participated in all the four presidential poll petitions since 2001.
His distinguished practice in civil and commercial litigation includes both domestic and international arbitration at the London Court of International Arbitration and the ICC Arbitration Chamber. He has successfully handled some of the highest-profile constitutional litigation and high-value commercial disputes in Uganda.
Irene Mwoyogwona: Beyond the Numbers – How Pride Bank's Award-Winning CFO Combines Profitability and Social ImpactMatsiko, for example, represented the Electoral Commission and the President of Uganda, in the 2016 Supreme Court petitions challenging presidential elections, as lead Counsel. He has also represented MTN, the leading telecom operator in Uganda, since 2007 and has in due course handled multi-million dollar disputes for the company. He recently won a Supreme Court extraterritorial interconnection dispute worth millions of dollars. He has also represented the Ugandan Communications Commission (UCC), since 2010, and has been its lead lawyer handling its legal work and disputes. In that capacity, Joseph recently successfully represented UCC in a USD 250 million dispute involving broadcasting and licensing issues.
He also successfully represented a Ugandan entity in a € 40 million international commercial arbitration matter in Paris and London, and also won a USD 16.4 million award in a litigation dispute in Uganda, on behalf of a mining foreign investor. Amongst many other ongoing commercial disputes, he is currently working with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, a London law firm on a multi-million dollar dispute in Uganda, involving a UK entity. He also recently successfully represented a financial services Group in a USD 15 million dispute involving money remittance operations.
Alfred Okello-Oryem
Okello-Oryem is the managing partner at Okello-Oryem & Company Advocates. He has been involved in numerous matters in the area of electoral petitions where he has represented EC as well as commercial matters. He has represented EC in all the presidential poll petitions since 2001. Okello-Oryem represented parties in the aviation industry, handled several commercial cases in the area of concessions and bilateral contracts as well as criminal law.
He holds many prestigious positions in the legal practice over the years including working in the Attorney General’s Chambers and in the EC’s legal department from 2001 to 2006.
He has also represented parties in the aviation industry, handled several commercial cases in the area of concessions and bilateral contracts as well as criminal law.
Elison Karuhanga
Karuhanga is a partner at KAA where he works in the Litigation and Energy law department. Prior to joining KAA, Karuhanga worked as a state attorney in the Justice ministry.
He has extensive litigation experience both in Uganda as well as the East African Court of Justice. He is one of the lawyers representing Gen. Kayihura before the military court and in the Sudhir Ruparelia in the Crane Bank case.
The Kyagulanyi presidential election is his second conduct in a presidential election petition with his maiden appearance being in 2016 when he represented the EC.
At KAA, Elison works in the litigation and energy law department. He is a trained oil and gas lawyer, having obtained an LLM (Oil and Gas Law) from the UK’s University of Aberdeen over and above his LLB from the University of Kent, also in the UK.
Elison is a member of GOXI, the World Bank Institutes’ Governance for Extractive Industries Program which brings together practitioners from government, private sector, NGOs, and Think Tanks to strengthen governance in the extractive industries sector. He is also a member of the Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum and a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN).
Having worked as a Legal Officer at dfcu Bank, one of Uganda’s top 5 banks, Elison possesses a good understanding of the banking terrain and as such has been part of the team that appeared before the Parliamentary Legal Committee on behalf of the Uganda Bankers Association to address issues to do with mortgage regulation.
Bruce Musinguzi
Musinguzi is a partner at KAA with 12 years of experience and he was recognised as a rising start by Global Chambers and Partners in 2020.
Prior to joining KAA, B Musinguzi worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and with JP Morgan in the United States.
He also participated in the 2016 presidential election petition lodged by Amama Mbabazi against Mr Museveni.
Musinguzi joined KAA in 2011 as a Senior Associate and by 2016 he had worked his way to being a Partner. Before KAA, he worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers USA (“PWC”), in the international tax group. While at PWC, he was mainly involved in advising clients on tax structuring, tax advisory, and tax compliance transactions.
Since joining KAA, Bruce has been involved in litigation with a preference for tax matters. Amongst the tax matters handled, Bruce successfully represented Standard Chartered Bank Uganda Limited in a UGX 13 billion income tax dispute. He also successfully represented the leading mobile telecommunications company, MTN Uganda in a UGX 320 billion corporation tax, Value Added Tax, and excise duty dispute against the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
He was also involved in representing Tullow Uganda Ltd in its US$490 million capital gains tax arising from the disposal of its interests in oil blocks. He has also worked with Total E&P and Total Uganda, including on a UGX 2 billion tax dispute. He was also part of the team that handled Orange Uganda Limited’s UGX 100 billion tax dispute against URA.
In the energy sector, some of the major matters that Bruce has been involved with, include, advising Eskom Uganda Ltd, a power generation company on a pending dispute with Uganda Revenue Authority in respect to eligibility to claim capital allowances on assets that came into use after the concession date with the Government of Uganda. He also represented Umeme Ltd, Uganda’s largest power distribution company in a USD 33.8 million dispute against URA before the Commercial Court regarding the taxability of assets that were passed over from government to the company under a concession agreement. He also secured a win at the Tax Appeals Tribunal for Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited, (UETCL) in a UGX. 14 billion VAT dispute on whether the UETCL was time-barred in its claim for an input tax credit.
Musinguzi offers tax advisory services to a number of blue-chip companies like that include: CNOOC, Total Uganda Ltd, Tullow Oil, Umeme Ltd, Bujagali Energy Limited, Standard Chartered Bank (U) Limited and Multichoice (U) Ltd, among others. Bruce has also represented Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) in several infrastructure project disputes.
Eric Sabiti
Sabiti is currently the head of litigation at the EC where he has worked for the last over 15 years.
He has also participated in a number of previous presidential elections defending the EC.
Prior to joining the EC, Sabiti worked with Mugimba and Company Advocates in 2005. Sabiti is known for filing an application that prompted former Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma to issue the infamous interim order restraining Parliament from debating and investigating the Shs6bn oil tax money which was later withdrawn.
Jet Tumwebaze
Tumwebaze is a partner with KAA and an integral part of the team in the litigation department.
He has litigated a number of matters at the East African Court of Justice in Arusha, Tanzania where he continues to be a trail blazer.
Tumwebaze participated in the last presidential poll petition.
Tumwebaze was the face of Kayihura’s defence and is remembered for vehemently taking on state security agencies for what he said was the forging of evidence against his client.
He is also one of the first lawyers, to set foot in the oil-rich Albertine Graben to represent Tullow Oil during the acquisition of land and compensation of project affected persons in the early days of oil exploration. It is believed that his expert handling of this task is what earned him the trust of his seniors as well as accelerated rise to Partner status.
Tumwebaze has represented other major companies in various matters that include Umeme, Uganda’s largest electricity distributor, as well as the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, MTN Uganda, Nile Breweries Limited and the Uganda Communications Commission.
He also recently won a UGX3.5 billion Hon. Margaret Zziwa vs. The Secretary General of The East African Community case that challenged Zziwa’s illegal removal from her office as the East African Parliament Speaker, a case that most legal pundits had given little chances of success.
Jet along with another colleague, successfully represented the Acholi war claimants, against the government of Uganda and secured billions of shillings in compensation for the properties the community had lost during the LRA war.
Owing to his expertise in employment law, at KAA, He is also a partner in charge of Human Resource and Administration. He has also helped several companies, to develop their HR Manuals and Policies in line with the Ugandan law.
