Seasoned senior sports journalist Yusuf Baliruno commonly known as ‘of Uganda’ lost a lawsuit filed against the Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi’s Central Broadcasting Service (CBS) radio challenging his dismissal without compensation.
Through his lawyers of Muwema and Company Advocates, Baliruno pleaded to Justice Anthony Wabwire Musana of the Industrial Court to direct CBS radio to compensate him with Shs129m with interest from the date the judgement was delivered for illegally terminating his employment.
Baliruno argued that his termination violated his constitutional rights and wanted the radio to be forced to pay him his arrears that accrued after the company failed to pay him when he was still working for them.
Baliruno also wanted CBS to pay his unpaid leave arrears, medical expenses, unauthorised deductions and repatriation allowance all with interests.
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To support his case, he brought Godfrey Kayibanda Sseguya, a former worker at CBS and Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) an umbrella body that brings together all sports journalists in the country to confirm that since 2001 up to 2019, Baliruno was a CBS worker.
According to court documents, USPA provided evidence showing that Baliruno had a CBS radio identity card and was paying subscription fees to the association.
In his testimony, Kayibanda told Court that he has known Baliruno from childhood and he is the one who helped him to join CBS radio as a full-time sports presenter reporting on 88.8fm and 89.2fm, covering various programs like ‘Akaati k’emizannyo, traffic updates, Amata Agatafa and football tournaments such as Buganda clans football tournament and Buganda Kingdom County football tournament.
“It was the Claimant who proposed that those football tournaments be popularized to attract sponsors, along with Uganda Premier League and schools’ tournaments on top of the international events,” Kayibanda’s evidence on the Court record reads.
He further told Court that Baliruno always attended CBS radio staff meetings, was registered with CBS SACCO, and had deductions made from their monthly salaries.
He added that he was shocked when Baliruno told him that he sometimes missed getting his monthly salary without any explanation from his bosses and he was not sure whether his bosses were paying his National Social Security Fund (NSSF) money.
He denied CBS evidence that Baliruno was a freelancer arguing that Baliruno had the radio’s identity card which was not given to people like Muhammad Nsereko the Kampala Central legislator, Mukono Municipality counterpart Betty Nambooze and veteran journalist Hassan Badru Zziwa who always visited CBS radio studios.
In his evidence, Baliruno told Court that he joined CBS after negotiating with the top managers and at first, he was receiving a monthly salary of Shs300,000/ which was later increased to Shs500,000/= plus Shs100,000/= monthly allowance after three months.
He testified that even though he was a star worker and was branded as ‘Masaza Boy’ because of his initiative to popularise the tournament, in 2004, he sustained multiple injuries in a work-related accident near Zana, for which his bosses declined to help him.
Instead, they loaned him money for medical expenses which he repaid through monthly allowance deductions and a similar loan offer was given to him when he fell ill in 2018.
He added that he was once appointed by fellow staff to represent them before the Kabaka and make a speech on their behalf because he was the worker of the year.
However, he was shocked when CBS breached the agreement they agreed upon.
He told Court that when CBS refused to pay him, he made attempts to meet Charles Peter Mayiga the Kingdom Premier over the matter but he failed.
He decided to write to him three letters which were received but never replied noting that it was because of those letters and he was dismissed from his job
He testified that in January 2019, he received a phone call from Abbey Mukiibi the radio’s programme Manager who grilled him on why he was writing letters to Mayiga.
Abbey officially told him that he is no longer part of them and was dismissed with immediate effect
The next day, he went to CBS to explain to Mukiibi but he was shocked to find that a new employee, a one Nsejjere Ssempijja had already occupied his desk
Mukiibi told court that since 1996 he has been the Programs Manager of the radio and he is the one who recruited Baliruno to join other sports journalists Stuart Mutebi Kiwanuka, Ahmed Bogere Masemba and later Omulangira David Lumansi and Mark Makumbi
He explained that even though other journalists were given contracts, Baliruno remained a freelancer and was given an identity card to help him gather sports news for the radio and he was free to share his content with other media houses.
He denied allegations that he dismissed Baliruno adding that he only advised him to first concentrate on his health because he was very sick. He added that Baliruno was very emotional and always wanted to quarrel and have exchanges with fellow workers.
Robert Kasozi the Chief Operations Officer of the radio told Court that the radio was not responsible to paying Baliruno’s medical bills and other allowances because he was not their work.
He added that he was not given a contract on grounds that he was not fluent in English language and could not translate his content from Luganda to English like other sports journalists who were working with him.
He added that Baliruno was not a trustworthy person because he was giving the radio false information during the traffic update segment which he presented.
In his decision, the judge dismissed Baliruno’s case on grounds that he failed to prove with documentation that he was a worker with CBS radio.
The judge further wondered why he didn’t fight to get a contract like other sports journalists he was working with.
“The questions on ownership of equipment or technology for the work and the degree of financial risk the employee takes would not, in the totality of our consideration of circumstances, result in the alternative conclusion that the Claimant was an employee of the Respondent. He was a freelancer, as we have found,” the judge stated.
