High Court orders salary enhancement for police legal officers

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The High Court in Kampala has ordered a salary enhancement for police legal officers to match that of other government lawyers working in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the Attorney General’s office. The landmark judgment, delivered on Friday by the head of the Civil Division, Justice Musa Ssekaana, followed a successful petition filed by seven police officers.

They sued the Attorney General, challenging the Ministry of Public Service’s decision to revise their salary structure downwards. The petitioners are Christine Nanding, Fred Paul Mirondo, Katrine Kusemererwa, Stephen Kagoda Ibanda, Rosemary Victoria Kirunda, Jimmy Shunu Chepkurui, and Stella Ninsiima Rwambuka.

The issue began in 2008 when the Government of Uganda implemented a policy to enhance the salaries of government lawyers. However, legal officers within the Uganda Police Force were excluded, leading the aggrieved officers to file a civil suit (High Court Civil Suit No. 160 of 2008) against the government, citing discrimination.

In 2010, the President of Uganda directed the enhancement of salaries for police legal officers to align with their counterparts in the ODPP. As a result, enhanced payments were made to all Uganda Police Force legal officers from the rank of AIGP to ASP, leading to the withdrawal of the civil suit.

From 2010 to 2022, the enhanced wages for these lawyers were incorporated into the Uganda Police Force wage bill. Subsequent appointments of legal officers were made with salaries matching those of their counterparts in the ODPP. However, in the 2021/2022 financial year, the salary structure provided enhanced salaries only for legal professionals under the ODPP, excluding those under the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. This exclusion continued in the 2022/2023 financial year.

On October 17, 2022, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Service informed the Inspector General of Police of an alleged overpayment of legal officers in the Uganda Police Force, leading to a downward revision of their salary structure. In March 2023, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs rescinded the officers’ earlier appointments made on July 6, 2022.

In response, the officers petitioned the High Court in 2024, arguing that this decision was a violation of the Presidential directive, unconstitutional, and an attempt to undermine the powers of the Fountain of Honour. They also claimed that the decision was made without following proper procedures and without giving them a fair hearing.

The officers further stated that they had secured loans based on the salary structure stipulated in their appointment letters of July 6, 2022. They argued that the mandates of the Uganda Police Force and the ODPP are interrelated under the Justice Law and Order Sector, justifying the enhanced salaries in the “wise counsel of the President to ensure fairness, equity, non-discrimination, attraction, and retention of legal personnel in the institution.”

Their lawyers, led by John Isabirye, argued that all available administrative remedies had been exhausted, leaving the court as the only recourse to quash the decision and order the immediate enhancement of their salaries.

The Attorney General contended that from the 2021/2022 financial year, legal professionals’ salaries were determined by the specific nature of their duties and responsibilities. Different salary scales applied to various roles within the Judiciary, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, ODPP, Judicial Service Commission, and other external bodies, as outlined in directives on salary enhancements issued by the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development.

He further argued that the payroll officer in the Uganda Police Force had unlawfully “manually reviewed the salary scale codes against the policy and controls fitted within the payroll system,” and thus asked the court to dismiss the application.

In his ruling, Justice Ssekaana sided with the officers, declaring the downward revision of their salary structure null and void. “The actions or conduct of the respondent (Attorney General) is in total violation of the right to legitimate expectation of the applicants who had received an enhanced salary in accordance with the Presidential Directive,” said Ssekaana.

He issued an order quashing the decision and an Order of Mandamus directing the Ministry to pay the officers all arrears resulting from the non-payment or underpayment of their enhanced salaries.

The court further awarded costs to the applicants and issued a permanent injunction restraining the Ministry from any future attempts to revise the officers’ enhanced salary structure.

“A declaratory Order that the decision to revise the salary payments of the Uganda Police Force Legal Professionals downwards below the enhanced salary scale was a violation of the Presidential Directive and an attempt to undermine the Fountain of Honour,” added Ssekaana.

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