September 19, 2023
KAMPALA,– The Attorney General of Uganda has called on the Anti-Corruption court to dismiss an application by the former Executive Director of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), David Livingstone Ebiru. Ebiru is seeking to temporarily halt his trial on bribery charges until investigations are completed.
The prosecution alleges that between October and December 2022, Ebiru offered a gratification of Shs 100 million to Charles Masekuura, the chairperson of the UNBS board, in an attempt to secure his position as the Executive Director of UNBS. In response, on August 8, 2023, the Chief Magistrate’s court issued a warrant for Ebiru’s arrest, directing the police to apprehend him immediately upon sighting.
Despite the warrant, efforts to arrest Ebiru have proven unsuccessful. Instead, he has taken legal action against the Attorney General, challenging the trial and seeking to halt it. Ebiru argues that he is aggrieved by the Inspectorate of Government’s (IGG) decision to prematurely sanction charges against him without conducting prior investigations.
In his bid to halt the trial, Ebiru contends that his fundamental rights and freedoms were violated by the IGG’s actions in issuing a warrant of arrest and preferring charges. He also points out the pending arrest warrant in the Anti-Corruption court, creating an imminent threat of enforcement that renders his application futile. In the main substantive case, Ebiru seeks to have the criminal summons, warrant of arrest, and trial declared illegal.
Through his legal representation at Web Advocates, Ebiru also requests a permanent injunction against the IGG and her agents from instituting charges against him, along with an order for compensation from the government for violating his fundamental rights.
During the hearing before Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga, the Attorney General, represented by Principal State Attorney Wanyama Kodoli, argued that the Anti-Corruption court division (ACD) lacked jurisdiction to hear human rights enforcement matters, which Ebiru had brought before it. Kodoli explained that the ACD was established as a specialized division solely for hearing corruption-related cases. He asserted that Ebiru’s application pertained to a civil matter and should have been filed in another appropriate court.
In response, Ebiru’s lawyer emphasized that the Human Rights Enforcement Act provides the High Court and Magistrates’ Court handling criminal matters with the authority to examine human rights violations arising from their courts. He further explained that the court itself may rely on civil law and procedure to issue an injunction halting proceedings, as the law doesn’t specifically assign jurisdiction to any particular court.
Justice Kajuga has set September 19 as the date to deliver her decision on the matter. It’s worth noting that while allegations suggest Ebiru admitted to bribing the UNBS board with Shs 100 million to avoid suspension, he contends that he made these statements out of anger and has never actually bribed anyone.
