Jailed former Principal Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister Geoffrey Kazinda has put up a spirited legal fight raising tough questions concerning his persecution where he challenged the competency of the Attorney General’s Supreme Court appeal .
In his solid affidavit evidence, Kazinda told the judges of the Supreme Court that the Attorney General’s Appeal resulting from the Constitutional Court landmark judgement in his favour is incompetent.
He insisted that the Supreme Court was misled by officers at the Attorney General’s chambers to issue orders staying the execution of the said petition orders explaining that the Attorney General failed to institute an appeal within the 60 days prescribed time.
The rules of the Supreme Court permit him to withdraw his appeal he filed out of time and it is the reason why he raised a preliminary objection against the grant of stay of execution of orders resulting from the constitutional petition.
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He added that as he was waiting for the decision of the court on the application on staying the execution of the Constitutional court orders, he was served with a Memorandum of Appeal and record of proceedings from the Constitutional court whose filing were done illegally.
“I also learnt that the judgement and record of the proceedings at the Constitutional Court were available for collection by the respondent more than a month before hearing commenced. The letter from the Registrar Court of Appeal was sent to the respondent communicating readiness of the proceedings,” Kazinda stated.
He explained that as he was waiting for the ruling from court on the competence of the appeal, he was shocked upon receiving a ruling from the Supreme Court staying the orders issued by the Constitutional court.
He noted that since the stay of execution orders, while he was waiting for the pronouncement of the Supreme Court on the said appeal, he never received any fresh Memorandum nor fresh record of appeal from the respondent or any court document to ascertain whether or not the Attorney General had complied with the court orders instituting his appeal without delay.
“I know that the actions of the respondent of filing appeal No 005 of 2020 when the determination as to whether an appeal exists is still pending before a quorum of seven justices and it cannot override the orders of the full bench of justices of the court to institute an appeal which was issued three months after appeal no.005 of 2020 was filed,” he stated.
The development comes at a time when seven Justices of the Supreme Court led by Justice professor Lilian Tibatemwa Ekirikubinza directed both parties to address and guide court on key legal issues.
Justice Ezekiel Muhanguzi one of the judges who had the petition at the Constitutional court didn’t sign the judgement on grounds that he was promoted to the Supreme court even though he participated in the hearing and writing of the judgement.
Kazinda told Court that since 2012, he has been incarcerated through endless prosecution by the agents of the Attorney General at the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court on charges of which he was convicted and has already completed serving the sentences slapped on him.
