Justice Musa Sekaana ruled that Walusansa’s removal from the position she has held since March 2013, following her appointment by President Museveni, was unlawful.
Walusansa sought legal redress after Orem declared her position vacant and issued an internal advertisement calling for applicants in December 2022. In its defence, UCI argued that Walusansa’s promotion to senior consultant medical oncologist in May 2022 by the president automatically rendered the position vacant.
However, Sekaana rejected this claim, stating that only the president has the authority to appoint, remove, suspend, or reappoint individuals to such positions. He further clarified that her promotion was intended to complement her existing roles at the institute, not replace them.
The judge emphasized that public decisions must be made without improper motives such as fraud, dishonesty, malice, or personal interest. Such motives, he said, distort decision-making and lead to unfair outcomes, rendering the decisions invalid.
“Fundamental to the legitimacy of public decision-making is the principle that official decisions should not be infected with improper motives… which have the effect of distorting or unfairly biasing the decision-maker’s approach,” Sekaana stated in his ruling.
He added that UCI’s leadership is legally obligated to understand and adhere to the laws governing their decision-making powers.
“The spirit of the Uganda Cancer Institute Act should not be defeated by distorting and overhauling the institution with a baseless policy of trying to assert authority and power over the persons who are saving lives or giving care to the cancer patients,” Sekaana noted.
In his ruling, the judge also prohibited UCI, Dr Orem, or any member of the board from victimizing, intimidating, or harassing Dr Walusansa following the court case.
The ruling comes against a backdrop of ongoing internal conflicts and power struggles at UCI. Health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng had previously urged the institute’s top leaders to end the infighting, warning that it could negatively affect the quality of care provided to cancer patients.
Earlier this year, UCI staff petitioned the Inspectorate of Government (IG) over similar allegations, accusing top officials of improperly removing employees from their positions. UCI has recently been marred by continued intrigue and infighting by top officials that Health minister Jane Ruth Aceng had earlier asked top leaders to stop infighting warning that this would affect care for cancer patients.
inarticle} inarticle}