Mubaje Floors Basabajjabala in High Court

The High Court in Kampala has quashed an injunction by the Mengo Chief Magistrate, Patrick Talisuna Ngereze which had frozen the activities of the Ugandan Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC).

In a judgment delivered on Tuesday morning, Justice Esta Nambayo ruled that the Chief Magistrate illegally and irregularly exercised his jurisdiction when he granted ex-parte interim orders halting UMSC operations.

The interim orders arose out of an application by four members of the UMSC general assembly namely, Hassan Basajjabalaba, Umaru Sewantu, Issa Gule and Sulaina Kigongo against the Mufti, Sheikh Shaban Ramathan Mubaje whom they accuse of unfairly blocking Basajjabalaba from contesting for the chairmanship of the top Muslim organ.

The UMSC general-assembly elections were held on December 3, 2022.

On January 10, a state of uncertainty engulfed the UMSC headquarters at Old Kampala after Talisuna issued orders against Mubaje and the UMSC, restraining them, their agents and their employees from conducting any activities until the final determination of the main application.
Days later, UMSC filed an application in the High Court seeking a review of the chief Magistrate’s orders which they also asked the court to set aside.

Through lawyers, Moses Kabega and Abbas Bukenya, Mubaje and the UMSC argued that the Chief Magistrate acted irregularly in addition to illegally exercising his jurisdiction “or with material irregularity or injustice without due regard to the rule of fairness and natural justice” when he heard and determined ex-parte, a matter that directly affects them.

They further argued that the trial chief magistrate issued the orders in total disregard of their non-derogable right to a fair hearing and in total violation of the guidelines on the issuance of interim orders by the Principal Judge.

“I find that the trial Chief Magistrate exercised his jurisdiction with material irregularity when he entertained an application for interim orders without evidence/formal application before him and went ahead to make orders which were altering the status quo and in effect disposing of the main suit before court,” Nambayo opined.

She wondered why the Talisuna heard Basajjabalaba’s January 4 miscellaneous application ex-parte without the same being served to UMSC.

“There is no evidence on court record to show that the Applicants were served with the application and yet the period of six days between filing and hearing of the application was, in my view, enough for [UMSC and Mubaje] to be served. All that [they] saw were an ex-parte interim order staying all activities of the [UMSC]. It is a fundamental principle of natural justice to always let the other side to be heard as well,” she stated.

She thus quashed Talisuna’s orders and awarded UMSC costs of the case.