ISMAIL DABULE & 1004 OTHERS VS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA APPEAL NO. O1 OF 2019 AT THE EAST AFRICAN COURT OF JUSTICE ARUSHA.
BACKGROUND
This case involves the Nubian Community and those who were seen to have been associated with the regime of Uganda’s former President IDI Amin DADA whose accounts were frozen, without trial for largely being Muslims, Nubians and deemed to be part of Amin government were frozen with money in today’s value estimated to be over 500 million which the government of Uganda refused to release to date.
FACTS
In 1979, The National Consultative Council of Uganda enacted The Banking Act [Amendment] Statute 18 of 1980, to introduce sections 26A and 26B which gave the Minister of Finance power to make Legal Notices N0.02 of 1982 and N0. 02 and 3 of 1984 freezing the Appellant’s accounts.
Consequently pursuant to the said Legal Notices the then Minister instructed Bank of Uganda to take over the Applicants’ accounts in commercial banks in Uganda so as to freeze the various personal and business accounts belonging to the Applicants which the central Bank did and transferred all the funds to itself.
On the basis of a letter by the then Minister of Finance to the Central Bank dated 3rd February 1995 instructing it to defreeze the said accounts, Counsel wrote to the Central Bank on 21st March 2003 seeking to implement the Minister’s letter.
The appellants filed Constitutional Petition No.2 OF 2004 in the Constitutional Court of Uganda and Constitutional Appeal No. 3 of 2007 in the Supreme Court of Uganda which courts both held that the appellants are free to access their money unfrozen by the Minister of Finance but the Minister refused to release the said monies through dismissing the matters for non-constitutional matters.
The Appellants filed Reference No.05 of 2016 in the First Instance Division of the East African Court of Justice contending that after clarification by the National Courts on the matter of the accounts in question, the continued refusal by the Government of Uganda to release those funds constituted a violation of Articles 6(d) and 7(2) of the East African Community Treaty.
On the 28th day of November, 2018, the First Instance Division decided that the matter was not properly before it and accordingly dismissed the same.
The appellants consequently appealed to the East African Court of Justice Appellate Division at Arusha.
During scheduling three issues were agreed upon to wit;
- Whether the First Instance Division erred in Law in finding that the reference was not properly before it for want of a cause of action.
- Whether the First Instance Division committed a procedural irregularity in failing to determine whether the reference was time barred.
- Whether the appellants are entitled to costs.
DECISION
In resolution of issue one, court agreed with the submissions of counsel for the Appellants that as the appellants had alleged violation of both Ugandan National Law and the Treaty, the Reference disclosed a cause of action. Court further stated that the holding of the Trial Court that there was no cause of action was manifestly erroneous.
In resolution of issue two, court further concurred with counsel for the appellants that the Trial Court committed a procedural irregularity by not considering all issues agreed upon. Court further stated that the decision of the court be based on the issues which are agreed upon by the parties, and if it is not done it results in miscarriage of justice.
In conclusion court allowed the appeal with costs, set aside the judgment of the First Instance Division of the East African Court of Justice (trial Court), remitted the case back to the trial court with directions to proceed with the hearing on the agreed issues and awarded costs to the appellants.