KCCA asks court to dismiss application seeking to block job recruitment

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Kampala Capital City Authority and the Attorney General have asked court to dismiss an application seeking to block the job recruitment at the authority. 

The application was filed last week by KCCA Human Resource Officer Paul Kasulu in the Civil Division of High Court seeking an interim order blocking more than 80 jobs that were recently advertised at KCCA by the Public Service Commission.

Through his lawyers led by Isaac Ssemakadde, Kasulu told court that there is an imminent threat and should court fail to grant an interim injunction, the looming interviews will affect Kasulu and nearly 700 others who are temporary employees of KCCA. 

Last month, the Public Service Commission Chairperson Justice Ralph Ochan directed that 88 vacant jobs within KCCA should be advertised. 

According to the advert, temporary workers at KCCA (Local Contracts) where Kasulu belongs are not legible to apply for the jobs.

Kasulu petitioned court saying that the order was unfair in nature and that he was to suffer unemployment in case an interim injunction is not granted.  

However, KCCA lawyers Doreen Tusiime and Ritah Mutuwa on Monday told court presided over by the Registrar Joy Kabagye that the application should be dismissed because it was filed in bad faith. 

Mutuwa told court that the grounds for dismissal were stated in the affidavit of Richard Lule, the Director in- charge of Administration and Human Resource at KCCA. 

Lule states that he has been advised by his lawyers that the application was supposed to be filed against the appointing authority which is the Public Service Commission and not KCCA.

Lule adds that the applicant is not an employee of KCCA by law since he is on temporary employment and thus not legible to apply for promotional jobs advertised by public service commission.  

‘There is no law which allows the person not appointed by public service like the applicant to apply for promotional jobs advertised by the public service commission’, reads the affidavit in part. 

The Attorney General who was represented by Nathan Hillary Ebila told court that instead of filing affidavits which adduce evidence, the applicant simply submitted an affidavit that is just speculative about the on-going recruitment process. 

Kabagye adjourned the case to September, 25th, 2019 for ruling on whether to grant the interim injunction or not.  

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