Kampala- The Supreme Court has nullified a 2014 Constitutional Court decision that had halted further criminal proceedings against former Principal Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister, Geoffrey Kazinda, ruling that the earlier judgment was issued without the constitutionally required quorum.
In a unanimous decision delivered by Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, alongside six other justices, the apex court held that the Constitutional Court’s ruling was a nullity because it was determined by only four judges instead of the mandatory five.
The justices emphasized that Article 137(2) of the Constitution requires a panel of five justices for the Constitutional Court to validly interpret constitutional matters. They noted that although Justice Ezekiel Muhanguzi participated in hearing the petition, his signed opinion was absent from the final judgment, rendering the court improperly constituted and stripping it of jurisdiction to issue a binding decision.
The Attorney General had appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging the Constitutional Court’s finding that the criminal proceedings against Kazinda were unconstitutional on grounds of double jeopardy. In its 2014 ruling, the Constitutional Court permanently stayed the proceedings and ordered that Kazinda be discharged, effectively shielding him from further prosecution based on the same facts.
However, the Supreme Court has now set aside those orders and directed that the petition be returned to the Constitutional Court for a fresh hearing as a matter of urgency. Interim orders that had stayed execution of the previous ruling have also been lifted.
The decision effectively revives the Attorney General’s appeal, which had remained pending before the Supreme Court for nearly five years without determination.
Kazinda is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence. He was first prosecuted in 2012 on corruption-related charges and, in 2013, was convicted on multiple counts, including abuse of office, forgery, and unlawful possession of government stores.
