Kampala– The Supreme Court has nullified a Constitutional Court judgment that had halted further criminal proceedings against former Principal Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister, Geoffrey Kazinda, and ordered a fresh hearing of the matter.
In a unanimous decision delivered by Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, alongside Justices Night Percy Tuhaise, Elizabeth Musoke, Prof. Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, Christopher Izama Madrama, Catherine Bamugemereire and Monica Mugenyi, the apex court held that the Constitutional Court was improperly constituted when it rendered its decision.
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The justices found that one member of the Constitutional Court panel, Justice Faith Mwondha Muhanguzi (as she then was), did not sign the judgment. As a result, the court lacked the constitutionally required quorum at the time the decision was delivered, rendering the ruling a nullity.
“We would depart from the decision in Basajjabalaba v. Basajjabalaba and restate our position in Orient Bank that in civil appeals, constitutional appeals and constitutional petitions, failure by a member of the quorum to sign a unitary judgment or furnish a separate judgment is a fatal and jurisdictional defect if it leaves the remaining panel below the constitutionally prescribed quorum,” the justices held.
The Supreme Court emphasized that Article 137(2) of the Constitution requires the Constitutional Court to sit with a quorum of five justices when interpreting constitutional matters. Any deviation from that requirement, the court ruled, goes to the root of jurisdiction.
The appeal before the Supreme Court had been filed by the Attorney General, challenging a Constitutional Court ruling that declared ongoing criminal proceedings against Kazinda unconstitutional on grounds of double jeopardy. The lower court had issued a permanent stay of proceedings and ordered that Kazinda be discharged, effectively shielding him from further prosecution based on the same facts.
However, with the Constitutional Court’s judgment now set aside, the Supreme Court clarified that there has, in effect, been no valid pending appeal before it for nearly five years, given that the impugned decision was a nullity.
“The matter was delayed because of the death and subsequent retirement of members of the panel. We extend our sincere regret to the parties for the delay in delivering this judgment,” the justices noted at the outset.
The Supreme Court has now referred the matter back to the Constitutional Court for a fresh hearing, directing that it be handled as an urgent matter.
The ruling effectively reopens the legal battle over whether the criminal cases against Kazinda amount to double jeopardy, setting the stage for a renewed constitutional interpretation by a properly constituted bench.
