Labour court orders reinstatement of former UBOS Director, John Mayende

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Kampala Labour Court has ruled in favor of John Mayende, the former Director and Head of Department at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), ordering his immediate reinstatement after he was unlawfully dismissed by the UBOS Board of Directors.

The court’s decision, delivered on July 17, 2024, quashed Mayende’s dismissal and concluded that the charges brought against him by the Bureau’s top management were false and baseless.

Mayende was initially accused in April 2023 of insubordination, refusal to follow orders from superiors, uttering false and malicious information against the bureau and its leadership (which arose from him raising concerns over the utilization of Parish Development Model (PDM) funds), and absenteeism.

These accusations were swiftly handled by a tribunal composed of top management officials, which cleared him of five charges.

However, on the same day of his trial in absentia, four new fabricated charges were raised against him without granting him the right to defend himself, leading to a rushed decision by the Top Management Disciplinary Committee to dismiss him.

Following the dismissal, he appealed to the UBOS Board of Directors, who, during a meeting held on June 14, 2023, overturned the top management disciplinary committee’s decision and ordered his reinstatement.

Despite this, the decision was delayed, and before it could be fully implemented, new allegations surfaced accusing Mayende of sponsoring defamatory radio programs aimed at tarnishing the reputation of UBOS leadership.

In its ruling, the court found that the management’s decision to dismiss Mayende was procedurally flawed and biased, as the top Management team acted as the complainants, witnesses, and judges in their own case. The court also dismissed the radio program allegations due to a lack of evidence, ruling the claims null and void.

The court’s ruling stated that Mayende’s dismissal lacked legal grounds and that the UBOS Board’s attempt to reverse its decision of reinstatement was functus officio and void.

“The claimant (Mayende) is ordered to report to work immediately and resume his duties,” read part of the ruling by Ruth Kulabako Namarwa, Labour Officer at the KCCA Labour Court.

His legal team from KOB Advocates successfully argued that the dismissal process violated his constitutional rights, and the court’s decision marks the end of a protracted legal battle for the former director, who had worked at UBOS for over 20 years.