Businessman Hamis Kiggundu has sought the quick intervention of the Chief Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo, following a letter in which the Principal Judge blocked the execution of commercial Court order.
Last week, Court directed Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) to refund Shs34b and $23.2m (Shs86b) which they allegedly deducted from Ham Enterprises’ accounts, in landmark ruling.
However, in a shift turn of events, the Principal Judge Flavian Zeija on Tuesday blocked this order.
Against that background, Mr Kiggundu commonly known as Ham has petitioned Justice Dollo saying Judge Flavian picked a suspicious interest in the case.
“We seek your urgent intervention as head of the judiciary in Uganda to issue such orders and directions necessary for the proper and efficient management of our client’s case as you may please,” the letter dated October 13 reads in part.
Ham indicated that Justice Henry Adonyo of the Commercial Court delivered a ruling striking out the bank’s statement of defence and entered judgment in his favour upon the reliefs he sought.
“However the hearing of the interim order application did not take place because we learnt from the Commercial Court that the Principal Judge had called for the file. We wish to state that as counsel acting in this case, the office of the Principal Judge has not favoured us with any official correspondence indicating its actions to be taken in our clients matter,” he adds.
“Whereas the Principal Judge as head of the High Court can call for any file in the High Court pursuant to his administrative functions under Article 141 of the Constitution, those powers cannot be understood to extend to the exhibition of continuous interest in one file to the extent of calling for it and interfering with its hearing whenever any proceeding in the case upsets or is likely to upset the defendants,” the letter further states.
Mr Kigunddu’s lawyers listed some of the instances where his file has been called; calling for the file and summoning the deputy registrar Dr Agnes Nkonge during the hearing of a temporary injunction.
He further noted that the file was also called on July 9, after lawyers of the bank complained about the allocation of the file to Justice Duncan Gaswaga who was hearing his appeal against the order of payment of 30 per cent.
“The principal judge has again called for the file and we have reason to believe that this has been done again at the prompting of the defendants who are unhappy with the recent ruling of the court,” reads the letter.
“We question why the Principal Judge who is not an allocated judge sitting in the judgment of our clients case should take away his file at a time when the defendants are seeking an interim order to stay execution of orders he neither issued nor can stay in law,” the letter further reads.
The interim order that was issued by the principal judge will be in place until the main application for stay of the execution orders is determined.
The interim order from the Principal Judge means that Ham cannot commence the recovery process of the aforementioned money from the bank as earlier ordered by Justice Adonyo.