Court allows Umeme to appeal in sh44.9m labour dispute
In a ruling delivered by Head Judge Linda Lillian Tumusiime Mugisha on July 3, 2026, the court held that Umeme had raised arguable grounds involving mixed questions of law and fact, warranting an appeal.
Court allows Umeme to appeal in sh44.9m labour dispute
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The Industrial Court has granted Umeme Limited leave to appeal against a Labour Officer’s decision awarding sh44.9 million to its former employee Abubaker Mubazi in a dispute over alleged unlawful dismissal.
In a ruling delivered by Head Judge Linda Lillian Tumusiime Mugisha on July 3, 2026, the court held that Umeme had raised arguable grounds involving mixed questions of law and fact, warranting an appeal.
The application arose from a decision of the Kampala Capital City Authority Labour Officer, Irene Nabbumba, who on April 8, 2024, awarded Mubazi sh44,939,377, as compensation for unlawful dismissal, payment in lieu of notice and severance pay.
Dissatisfied with the award, Umeme asked the Industrial Court for permission to challenge the decision, arguing that the Labour Officer improperly evaluated the evidence, leading to erroneous findings that Mubazi had been unfairly dismissed and denied a fair hearing.
Mubazi opposed the application, arguing that the Labour Officer’s findings were largely based on questions of law rather than fact and, therefore, did not require leave to appeal.
He maintained that the Labour Officer had properly evaluated the evidence and reached a fair decision.
Mubazi further argued that Umeme failed to identify specific factual findings it intended to challenge and described the application as an abuse of court processes.
The judges observed that Umeme’s proposed memorandum of appeal challenged, among other things, the Labour Officer’s evaluation of evidence, findings on whether Mubazi received a fair hearing, whether his dismissal was justified and the award of compensation.
The court noted that although some of the proposed grounds raised legal questions, they were intertwined with factual issues that could only properly be determined on appeal.
“Given the mixed nature of the grounds, the court finds that while some questions merit scrutiny, they are intertwined with legal issues that can be addressed on appeal,” the judges ruled.
The court, therefore, found that Umeme had met the legal threshold for leave to appeal on grounds involving mixed law and fact.
Justice Mugisha granted the application and directed Umeme to file its substantive appeal within 14 days from the date of the ruling.