Kampala, Uganda – The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has dismissed Masaka Deputy Registrar Cissy Mudhasi Kawuma and Chief Magistrate Ruth Nabaasa for misconduct.
According to a statement issued by the JSC, Ms. Mudhasi was dismissed for abusing her judicial authority by ordering the attachment of accounts belonging to Makerere University, the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council, and a private individual without following proper legal procedures. She also defied the Chief Justice’s instructions by conducting execution proceedings during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Ms. Nabaasa was dismissed for abusing her judicial authority by handling a matter outside her jurisdiction. She disobeyed a High Court judge’s orders to determine the value of properties, which would have ascertained whether the matter fell within her jurisdiction.
In June 2020, Ms. Mudhasi, then Masaka High Court Deputy Registrar, was interdicted by the then Acting Chief Registrar Tom Chemutai on three counts, including shoddy work and conduct prejudicial to the image and reputation of the judicial service, contrary to the Judicial Service Regulations of 2005.
She was accused of conspiring with lawyers Akleo Mugisha and Martha Orishaba, and RAM Engineering Company Director Julius Mugambagye to defraud Makerere University of Shs 3.5 billion, among other allegations. Court records indicate that Ms. Mudhasi, considered the prime suspect, committed these acts in May and June 2020.
She allegedly abused her office by issuing ex parte court orders to attach money from Makerere University’s Stanbic bank account to satisfy a non-existent arbitral award purportedly won by Ram Engineering Uganda Limited, without verifying if the university owed the company anything.
In 2021, Ms. Mudhasi obtained a temporary injunction blocking the Uganda Police Force and the State House Anti-Corruption Unit from investigating this alleged fraud, pending the determination of her case challenging the criminal investigations into her judicial work. The order was issued by Justice Musa Ssekaana, Head of the Civil Division.
“The actions of the respondent agents are a threat to the applicant’s constitutional rights. This court, as a custodian of the Constitution, ought to issue orders that would ensure that the Constitution is not violated since the alleged violation will not be atoned for in damages or be adequately compensated with any amount of money or earthly possessions,” Justice Ssekaana stated.
Her dismissal now allows investigations to proceed.
On May 17, 2023, the JSC also dismissed Rakai Grade One Magistrate Latif Abubaker Nakibinge for withdrawing money from a court operations fund account and failing to return it to the owner.
Mr. Nakibinge was dismissed after a complaint that he withdrew Shs 7 million from a Centenary Bank account related to civil suit number one of 2017 and failed to hand it over to Kamugunda of Matovu and Kamugunda & Company Advocates, who represented the respondent.
In its meeting on May 12, 2023, the JSC also severely reprimanded Moses Kule Lubangula, a Chief Magistrate in Kamwengye, for presiding ex parte over a matter outside the jurisdiction of a Grade One Magistrate. The case, Mutesasira John vs Mukasa Galiwango, involved a subject matter beyond the pecuniary jurisdiction of a Grade One Magistrate.
“Secondly, you proceeded to hear the said application ex parte, contrary to the Chief Justice’s 2016 directive that expressly forbade granting ex parte orders without notifying the opposing party and without an affidavit of service filed on record,” the source indicated.
