Battle for top Makerere job goes to court

The position of Principal of the Makerere University College of Health Sciences has morphed into a court battle.

One of the contenders Prof. Moses Joloba has asked the civil division of the High Court in Kampala to overturn the appointment of Prof. Damalie Nakanjako. She is currently the Dean of the School of Medicine.

Joloba is a professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and the current Dean.

New Vision has seen a copy of Nakanjako's appointment letter dated December 10, 2020, drafted by acting director human resources Lawrence Ssanyu. It is effective from December 1, 2020, to November 30, 2024.

Joloba filed the application for judicial review on December 15 purporting that the committee findings which branded him unethical and of bad integrity, was in bad faith.

Joloba says the Senate has been vague, and that he was never given the opportunity of a fair hearing. He says he was not told the particulars of the claimed unethical behaviour.

Judicial review is conducted by the High Court to scrutinise the legality of processes that resulted in decisions taken by tribunals or administrative bodies.

The Senate, University Council, and Chancellor relied on the findings to make the appointment.

In the application for judicial review, the university and Nakanjako are listed as respondents.

Joloba wants the court to order for a new search committee to be instituted to conduct a fresh process.

He says he was wrongly judged, yet authoritative reports absolved him of any wrongdoing.

"The Search Committee ignored the unequivocal reports of the Inspector General of Government, Director Human Resources and Principal College of Health Sciences clearing the applicant of any criminal, disciplinary conduct or integrity issues," the filing reads.

"The Search Committee injudiciously performed its mandate of vetting the integrity of suitable candidates by turning itself into a complainant, investigator, prosecutor, witness, and judge/adjudicator/ umpire in the same cause to the detriment of the applicant."

Why court intervention?

Joloba asserts that the Search Committee breached his fundamental right to a fair hearing, right to promotion, right to equality before the law protected under Articles 20, 21, 28, and 42 of the Constitution.

He laments that Senate, University Council, and Chancellor abdicated their duty to adequately scrutinise the findings that would have guided in making an informed decision.

"The Applicant complained against the unjust and unfair treatment by the Search Committee but was denied a remedy within the 1st Respondent's (Makerere) internal structures and hence the resort to Judicial Review for this Honourable Court to exercise its supervisory powers over her inferior bodies," court documents indicate.

Affidavit

Joloba has sworn an affidavit, saying the search committee findings have a direct bearing on his career prospects and engagements both locally and globally.

"The impugned unfair assessment shall have unending effects on my current and prospective engagements in collaborative academic projects, global academic research," says Joloba.

He says as a leading scientist, all engagements, be it private or public sector requires integrity as the foremost element.

"I am sincerely worried that I may never be considered for appointment to any professional boards or committees in the absence of evidence that the said findings were false and unsubstantiated."

Makerere and Nakanjako are yet to file their rebuttals.

The case file has been allocated to Justice Michael Elubu, who is the head of the High Court's civil division.

A hearing date is yet to be fixed.