Microsoft Word - Casebook on Environmental law

THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF UGANDA AT KAMPALA

ELECTION PETITION No. 1 OF 2001

COL (RTD) DR. BESIGYE KIZZA.............................. PETITIONER
VERSUS

1. MUSEVENI YOWERI KAGUTA


2. ELECTORAL COMMISSION.................................RESPONDENTS

(CORAM: ODOKI, CJ; ODER, JSC; TSEKOKO, JSC; KAROKORA, JSC; AND
MULENGA, JSC)

Civil Procedure: Costs in Public Interest Litigation suits.
Judge’s decision as to who should pay costs in court
Factors to be considered when awarding costs
Civil Procedure: Whether petitions including hearsay to be accepted in court

This was an election petition challenging the results of the Presidential Election held on 12th
March 2001. The second respondent organised the elections and declared the first respondent the
winner. The petitioner sought to declare that the election invalid and that it should be annulled.
When the matter came up for hearing, several objections were raised that various affidavits were
defective and should be struck out, statutory declarations were not registered with the registrar of
documents, affidavits were inadmissible and that some offended O. 17 R. 3 of the Civil Procedure
Rules.

HELD:

1. Failure to register the statutory declaration in Uganda as required by the Act did not go to
   substantive justice. It seems to be a requirement designed to raise revenue and it was not
   too late to register and pay the fees.


2. A petitioner cannot avoid including hearsay matters in the affidavit accompanying his
   petition. The proper thing to do is to consider the petition and affidavit accompanying it,
   and finally severe any matters contained in such affidavit that are offensive.


3. The judge has discretion to decide who should pay costs which discretion must be
   exercised judiciously.


4. Petitioners are not to be penalized for assisting in development of legal, historical and
   constitutional development of the country.

Petition dismissed, parties to bear their own costs

Editorial Notes: It’s not almost a rule of practice that no costs are ordered in a public interest
suit. The detailed judgments could not be reproduced as they are too bulky.