Ddungu court case keeps UOC assembly in balance

All sport. The former president accuses the Blick-led executive of holding office illegally.

As Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) nears the elective general assembly on Saturday, the body’s legal team is up against the clock preparing the defence against a temporary injunction application against the exercise.

This, also filed by former UOC president Roger Ndungu through his lawyers Arinaitwe Law Advocates, as a footnote to a main civil suit lodged against the William Blick-led executive last year, accusing them of holding office illegally.

“We are aware that you are purporting to call a meeting under the obvious self-misrepresentation that you have the capacity and authority to call such a meeting to discuss issues dealing with the committee when your very tenure is subject to court action,” Arinaitwe Law Advocates wrote to UOC on February 28.

The hearing of the temporary injunction has been fixed for March 13 before Justice Kabiito but the UOC legal team head Donald Rukare denied there was an interim injunction application filed to stop the assembly this weekend. “At this point in time there is no application for an interim order,” Rukare told Daily Monitor yesterday.

“But as UOC we shall not discuss the interim injunction because we have not been served those papers. For now we have taken to preparing our defence against the application of the temporary injunction next week.”

But what happens if, say, the assembly goes ahead and the unopposed Blick and his executive are passed and on Wednesday court grants the temporary injunction Ddungu is seeking?

“If say court grants the temporary injunction on Wednesday, everything will stay as is on that day the injunction is granted pending the outcome of the main suit,” explained Rukare.

But Francis Kiwa, a city lawyer, told us that “court will not grant an injunction if the activity of which it is intended to stop is in vain.” The lawyer added: “It will be inconsequential. Actually court will not even hear it. The process will just be academic and the case will be out.”

However, Kiwa admitted Ddungu can still have his way and stop the Saturday meet. “They can still secure an interim injunction and that has to be between today and tomorrow (today) since Friday is a public holiday,” he said. “So UOC will have fingers crossed an interim injunction is not filed by end of tomorrow. But the Ddungu group must convince the magistrate it is necessary.”

amwanguhya@ug.nationmedia.com