The High court has nullified a decision by Makerere university staff’s appeal tribunal to reinstate a lecturer who had been sacked by the university appointments board.
Makerere, through the university secretary, applied for a judicial review in the High court seeking, among others, the declaration that the reinstatement of Dr Eria Olwowo Onyango as a lecturer in the department of sociology and anthropology, college of humanities and social sciences was, “illegal, irrational, unjustified, and unreasonable.”
High court judge Simon Peter Kinobe, in agreeing with Makerere university, said the staff appeals tribunal decision was illegal after it was arrived at beyond the time allowed in law.
“The 1st respondent exercised its jurisdiction outside the provisions of law without a lawful viable cause. Accordingly, the decision of the 1st respondent complained about in this application cannot stand,” Kinobe ruled.
The university said the staff appeals tribunal had abused its power to reinstate him because the 45-day time frame within which it had to determine the matter had expired. Onyango had in 2022 been terminated from university service by the appointments board after it emerged that he had lost a student’s examination script.
When he applied for the post of senior lecturer in 2019, a complaint against him was lodged, which was investigated and found to be correct. The appointments board not only declined to approve his promotion but also terminated his contract with the university. Dissatisfied, Onyango appealed in the appeals tribunal, which ruled in his favour in August 2024.
The tribunal ordered his reinstatement and also payment of his salary from the date his contract had been terminated. But the university appealed this decision, arguing that the tribunal can’t decide a matter two years after its filing.
But in his defence, Onyango said, the tribunal, for some time, had no chairperson after the expiry of the term of its former chairperson and therefore, couldn’t have rendered its verdict without the chairperson.
But the judge wouldn’t have any of that.
“In the case of Makerere university vs Makerere university staff appeal tribunal and Dr. Malowa Davis Ndayi, justice Ssekana in his judgement held that, tribunals cannot extend their time as they are considered flexible with no stringent processes and hence should be able to dispense justice in the prescribed period oftime and hence time limit should not be extended… “
“A decision can be overturned on the ground of illegality if the decision-maker did not have the legal power to make that decision. This can happen if the decision-maker acts outside or beyond its powers, also known as ‘ultra vires’, or misdirects itself in law…The failure to conclude and render a decision within the time provided by law makes the acts of the 1st respondent unlawful and ultra vires its jurisdiction,” the court ruled.