A delayed ruling by Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma has angered lawyers of Habib Buwembo, who sued to oust Lubaga South MP Kato Lubwama from parliament for lack of the requisite academic qualifications.
Weeks ago, the lawyers filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal seeking to quash a High court interim order by Justice Cheborion Barishaki that halted hearing of an election petition against Kato Lubwama.
A panel of three justices including Justice Kavuma was set up to hear the appeal. But on February 7, 2017, Buwembo’s lawyers led by Isaac Kimeze Ssemakadde and Eron Kiiza roundly objected the inclusion of Justice Kavuma on the panel.
Justice Kavuma promised to deliver his ruling on notice but he has not delivered till now. Ssemakadde and Kiiza reportedly told Kavuma in the presence of justices Hellen Obura and Barishaki that they have a court record where he declared both lawyers his enemies.
According to the source who attended the meeting, the lawyers said Justice Kavuma’s dislike for them started in 2014 when they used The Legal Brains Trust (LBT), a lawyers’ civil society organization, to file a suit in the High court challenging his appointment as acting chief justice and acting deputy chief justice.
Furthermore, the source said the lawyers reminded Kavuma that even after he was substantively appointed as deputy chief justice, they continued to challenge the legality of his appointment by filing various suits in different courts.
Ssemakadde and Kiiza reportedly said that they represented Simon Peter Esomu who wanted the Mengo Magistrate’s court to compel the Judicial Service Commission to disclose documents showing if at all Justice Kavuma sat interviews that led to his appointment as deputy chief justice.
Though he wasn’t party to the case, Justice Kavuma asked to join and once he was allowed, he swore an affidavit therein saying that Kiiza, Ssemakadde and LBT have a personal vendetta against him. He also declared them his opponents. This particular case was dismissed. Esomu appealed in the High court and ruling is yet to be delivered.
Kiiza, separately, notified Kavuma that he filed a petition together with Gerald Karuhanga now Ntungamo Municipality MP, which is still pending before the Supreme court in which they are challenging Kavuma’s appointment as deputy chief justice. It should be remembered that the duo went to the Supreme court after the Constitutional court registry staff refused to receive their petition.
In the meeting, Ssemakadde and Kiiza reportedly admitted that they are also sworn enemies of Justice Kavuma and couldn’t expect justice from him. They asked him to step down. Though they expected Justice Kavuma to deliver his ruling there and then as the norm is, he told them he would rule on notice.
The lawyers claim the delayed ruling is meant to buy some more time for Lubwama to stay in parliament.
“The Kato Lubwama case has now created a backlog both at the High court and [at] the Court of Appeal; it seems that was Lubwama’s plan all along,” Kiiza said.
Interviewed on Monday, the judiciary’s senior communications officer, Solomon Muyita, said it is very hard to determine when a judge would make a ruling, more so when he never gave a date.
Contacted on Monday, Samuel Mulindwa Muyizzi, one of Lubwama’s lawyers, attributed the delay in hearing of the case to Buwembo’s lawyers.
“Everything we have done so far is within the law. It’s them [Buwembo’s lawyers] that asked Justice Kavuma to step down. If they want the case to be heard quickly, they should withdraw that application,” Muyizzi said.
dkiyonga@observer.ug
