The High Court has ruled that state minister for transport, Joy Kabatsi acted illegally to direct the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) to send on forced leave its former director of human resource and administration in May last year.
Justice Musa Ssekaana held that the decision of the Minister requesting Jabbe Pascal Osinde Osudo to go on forced leave in absence of the Board was unlawful.
The judge, however, ruled that the Court could give any orders affecting Osudo’s employment since he was no longer in the same employment after his job was already terminated following a case in regard to his appointment.
“…the decision (directive) of the Minister of Transport given to the Managing Director without a properly constituted Board of Directors to send the applicant on 6 months forced leave was illegal,” Justice Ssekaana held.
In October 2019, the High Court ruled that Osudo was ineligible for appointment as the Director Human Resource and Administration at the time he was shortlisted and subsequently appointed by the Board.
According to the court records, on May 29, 2020, UCAA on the orders of the minister, served Osudo with letter sending him on forced leave for six months to pave way for investigations that he has been involved in in-fighting which prejudiced the image of the institution.
Last year, Osudo sued the Attorney General (AG) and UCAA seeking to quash the decision requesting him to go for forced leave as the Director Human Resource and Administration.
He told court that decision was tainted with illegality, impropriety, irrationality and outside the law on the face of the record.
Ugandan enterprises urged to explore regional oil and gas opportunitiesOsudo argued that the Minister acted contrary to the law when he directed the applicant to be sent on forced leave for 6 months.
Court decision
Justice Ssekaana stated that the Minister of State for Transport seems to have had good intentions in sending Osudo to forced leave but her actions fell short of authority because there was no board in existence to allow such an action of management.
He ruled that the legal provision envisage that the directions of the minister are given to an authority that is fully constituted and in its existence.
“The law does not envision a situation where the Minister would be directly dealing with Managing Director without a Board of Directors. This would be contrary to the spirit of the UCAA Act which vests the general control of the performance and management of the undertakings and affairs of the authority,” he added.
According to the judge, it would be a recipe for disaster if the Minister refuses to constitute a Board required under the law and later give directives to only an individual (Managing Director) when the management is vested in an entire Board.
