NDA, bosses fined for contempt of court

The High Court has convicted senior officials of the National Drug Authority (NDA) for contempt of court and awarded more than Shs100m to Mr Mark Kamanzi, the interdicted NDA head of legal services.
High Court (Civil Division) Judge Andrew Bashaija, found NDA, its immediate former executive secretary Donna Asiimwe Kusemererwa and Mr Paddy Jude Mike Lutalomudoma, guilty of contempt of court.
He ordered each to deposit Shs10m in court as a fine for their contempt. They were also ordered to pay Shs100m to Mr Kamanzi as general damages. The amount of general damages and fine, Judge Bashaija ruled, shall each attract an interest rate of 8 per cent per annum from the date of the ruling until it is paid in full. The applicant, Mr Kamanzi, was also awarded three quarters of the taxed costs.

From the evidence adduced before court, the judge said, it is very clear that the respondents had disregarded the court orders in failing to fully re-instate Mr Kamanzi in his job as head of legal services.
“The respondents cannot expect a reasonable court to believe that they only needed a head legal services for non-sensitive case files. Allowing the applicant to only partial duties under his job description was indeed contempt of the court order which had effect of reversing the termination of the applicant by the respondents until the main application had been heard and disposed of,” the judge said.
In the March 22 ruling, the High Court has, however, acquitted former legislator and NDA chairman, Dr Medard Bitekyerezo, of court contempt and ordered Mr Kamanzi to pay him costs in the suit.
The High Court decision is the latest in a string of cases resulting from an intricate web of fights that have plagued the drugs regulatory body for more than five years.

On February 14, the Court of Appeal ordered Ms Kusemererwa to vacate office immediately following a 2017 ruling by the High Court that her appointment as the executive director of NDA in January 2016, was “unlawful, unjustifiable, null and void”. Ms Kusemererwa had replaced Ms Kate Kikule, who served as acting executive director following the sacking of Dr Gordon Sematiko at the peak of corruption scandals that were then being investigated at the drug authority.
Mr Kamanzi, on the other hand, is facing charges at the Anti-Corruption Court over a benefit that the prosecutor says he enjoyed but was not entitled to. The benefit is annual membership to Maisha Health Club, which cost NDA about Shs7m a year. He says the charges are tramped-up.
Last year, High Court Judge Musa Ssekaana dismissed a case in which the appointment of Dr Bitekyerezo as the chairman of NDA was challenged.

Background of the dispute

Mr Kamanzi was on January 4, 2016 appointed on a fixed term contract of five years as NDA’s head of legal services. His services were, however, terminated on June 6, 2017. He challenged the decision by seeking judicial review in court.
On June 20, 2017, court ordered, in the interim, that he resumes his duty with full benefits and in accordance with his employment contract until the final determination of the main application. The order, court heard, was served on the respondents on June 20, 2017, and Mr Kamanzi returned to work the following day. He found that his office had been swept clean of all documents and files and he was not allowed to perform certain functions of his office, which were limited or reassigned to other NDA officials. He petitioned court, arguing that such actions amounted to contempt of court. In their defense, the respondents said he had not only failed to demonstrate the contempt of court but that the principle did not apply to his case.
They asked court to dismiss the application, insisting that Mr Kamanzi had been allowed to work and availed with the tools of trade, except sensitive files.

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