Nandala Mafabi, accountants body cease hostilities   

COURT|ICPAU|AGREEMENT

KAMPALA - Nathan Nandala-Mafabi and Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda(ICPAU), have resolved to cease hostilities after a court-brokered truce.

On Friday, High Court civil division Kampala, issued a Consent Order, after the parties signed a Consent Agreement, approved by court.

This court document is confirming that the politician, who is an accountant, dropped claims that the ICPAU maliciously edged him out from the fraternity council.

Prior, in a  protest letter dated July 16, 2020, addressed to ICPAU, the politician lamented that his name and that of his trading company MTC Associates, had been omitted from the roll of licenced firms published in July.

Nandala-Mafabi(MP Budadiri County West) explained that he had fulfilled the requisite, including payment of fees and submission of adequately complete forms.

He said MTC Associates had paid fees and filled the form at the request of the association but his name and that of his company were conspicuously missing from the list of licensed firms published by ICPAU this month.

The protest subsequently morphed into a court dispute, where Nandala-Mafabi, also FDC party Secretary General, sued ICPAU and the Registrar of Accountants, alleging foul play.

In the Consent Order, the court authenticated the parties agreement that a truce was best in the interest of a win-win cordial resolution.

Court directed that a special ICPAU meeting be convened to formalise Nandala- Mafabi's admission to the powerful council, which elects the fraternity president.

"The First respondent's(ICPAU) Outgoing Council is hereby authorised to convene a special general meeting of the members of the institute where the elections committee shall update the members on the resolution of the applicant's(Nandala-Mafabi) petition regarding the elections and shall re-declare the New Council that shall include the applicant as a council member," the order states.

Court also emphasised that the implication of the Consent Order was that Nandala- Mafabi's petition to court, was fully withdrawn.

ICPAU was also directed to expeditiously resolve all pending queries related to licence applications.

The binding agreement was signed by Nandala-Mafabi, his lawyer Julius Galisonga of Galisonga & Company Advocates, ICPAU officials and their lawyers from Ligomarc Advocates.

ICPAU fact file

It is the national professional accountancy body. Its functions, as stipulated in the Accountants Act, are to regulate and maintain the standard of accountancy in the country.

The body is also tasked with prescribing and regulating the conduct of accountants and accountancy firms countrywide.

The law 

Section 35(1) of the Accountants Act, 2013 states that a person shall not practice accountancy in Uganda without a certificate of practice.

In the event of breach of the law, a culprit faces a fine of up to sh10m or two years in jail.

A practicing licence annually is sh1.2m, certificate for membership is sh1m, and sh400,000 is for certificate renewal.