UDB CEO asks court to quash suspension

By Andante Okanya

The embattled chief executive officer of Uganda Development Bank(UDB) Patricia Ojangole, has asked court to quash her suspension from office, saying it was irregular.

On Tuesday, she filed an application for judicial review at the civil division of the High Court in Kampala.The embattled boss said she was never accorded a hearing prior to the suspension.  

Judicial review is a type of court proceeding of the High Court that scrutinises the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body or holder of public office.

Government’s chief legal advisor, the Attorney General (AG), and UDB, are listed as joint respondents.

Ojangole is currently battling charges of conflict of interest at the Anti-Corruption Court. She purportedly influenced the recruitment that resulted in her appointment as chief executive on November 30, 2012.

Ojangole contends that the suspension which took effect on February 14, was premised on irregularities.

UDB board chairman in his letter to her, explained that the suspension was on the prompting of the Inspector General of Government (IGG).

But through Kenneth Akampurira Advocates, Ojangole alleges that her suspension was maliciously orchestrated by a clique at the Inspectorate of Government in cohorts with ex-UDB employees.

“From the time of my appointment, the Inspectorate of Government has engaged on a personal vendetta episode to charge me and other colleagues of the management team following the Board’s termination of members of staff that were found to have fallen short  of the bank’s code of conduct and ethics,” Ojangole states in her affidavit.

Additionally, she has filed an application for temporary injunction for her immediate reinstatement, pending the determination of the main case.

Ojangole lamented that her credibility is under scrutiny, and that her ouster from office will jeorpardize her future career prospects.

Court is yet to schedule a hearing date for the case. The AG and UDB are yet to respond.