The High Court in Kampala has ordered the arrest of Lawyer Siraje Kakeeto for failing to pay his client USD 42,000.
In a decision dated August 30th 2024, a panel of three Civil Division Judges, including Justice Musa Ssekaana, Lady Justice Esta Nambayo, and Justice Boniface Wamala ordered the arrest of Kakeeto for his conduct arising from his failure to sign transfer forms and provide necessary documents to facilitate the transfer of a land title to his client Dr Swaibu Mahamudu Ssemuwemba.
The case dates back to 2019 when Dr Ssemuwemba lodged a complaint against Kakeeto in the Law Council, alleging that he had failed to remit the sum of USD 52,000. Kakeeto was arrested and later released, promising to pay the outstanding amount.
Records before the Court indicate that Kakeeto was able to pay 10,000 dollars in 2016 leaving a balance of 42,000 dollars. Records add that on October 17th 2019, Kakeeto wrote to the Secretary of Law Council specifically committing to pay the outstanding arrears to the complainant. However, he failed to meet his obligations, leading to a mediation settlement with the Law Council.
During the mediation, the Disciplinary Committee ruled, directing Kakeeto to pay 150 million shillings in instalments of 12 million shillings per month starting May 2022 to complete payments in the next ten months.
He had however been told to first make a down payment of 30 million shillings by April 2022 and also directed to deposit the land title to the Law Council with a valuation report. Further, he was ordered to pay Dr Ssemuwemba 10 million shillings as travel allowances and 1 million shillings as costs to the Law Council.
“That following the conduct of the appellant over the years in failing to meet his obligations financially, a 6% percent interest is levied on the outstanding payment after the Ugx 30,000,000/= cash down”, held the disciplinary committee.
Kakeeto agreed to pay 150 million shillings in instalments of two million shillings per month but again failed to comply. Subsequently, the Law Council issued a warrant of arrest against him in October 2022, which he challenged in the High Court before a panel of three Judges.
Kakeeto filed a Notice of Appeal in the High Court on December 13th 2022, challenging the Law Council’s ruling of 6th April 2022. Kakeeto’s appeal was filed eight months after the Law Council’s decision, well beyond the statutory time limit of 14 days.
The Law Council and Dr Ssemuwemba opposed the appeal saying that it was filed out of time without an application for enlargement or extension of time. It was also stated that the filing of the appeal was an afterthought and thus an abuse of the court process, intended to delay/defeat the execution of the Law Council’s orders.
In their Judgement on Friday, the judges upheld the decision of the law stating that Kakeeto’s appeal was invalid due to the late filing and lack of leave from the court. They emphasized that the Advocates Act provides a clear timeline for filing appeals, which must be strictly adhered to.
“The right to appeal is a statutory right, and the conditions precedent must be strictly performed. In this case, the appellant failed to file his appeal within the prescribed time, and therefore, there is no valid appeal pending in this court”, held the justices.
The Justices added that the decision of the Law Council Disciplinary Committee shall be enforced.
“Consequently, the appellant should be arrested for refusing to sign transfer forms and providing necessary documents to facilitate the transfer of the said land title in the names of the 1st respondent/Dr Ssemuwemba”, reads the decision.
