Arusha, Tanzania: Uganda’s Inspector General of Government (IGG) has officially withdrawn from all legal proceedings involving former Principal Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr Godfrey Kazinda, before the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) in Arusha, Tanzania, leaving the Attorney General of Uganda as the sole respondent in the ongoing property confiscation dispute.
The withdrawal, announced on Tuesday, follows the IGG’s admission that its office lacks legal capacity to participate in civil litigation before the regional court.
During the session, the IGG was represented by Mr Vincent Kasujja, the Manager of Civil Litigation, and Ms Hasifah Nabbale, the Supervisor of Litigation, while the Attorney General was represented by Principal State Attorney Mr Richard Adrole.
Kazinda, currently incarcerated at Luzira Prison, appeared via video link and represented himself.
A five-member panel of EACJ justices, led by Principal Judge Yohane Bokobora Masara, granted the IGG’s withdrawal request without awarding costs, effectively ending the IGG’s participation in the matter.
This marks the third withdrawal by the IGG from similar proceedings before the same court, after earlier attempts were struck down on grounds that the Ugandan ombudsman has no legal standing to appear before the EACJ in civil cases.
“The Court reaffirms that the Ugandan IGG doesn’t have the legal capacity to appear before the EACJ in such matters,” the justices ruled.
Background to the Case
The case stems from a 2020 ruling by the Anti-Corruption Court, which ordered the confiscation of several properties belonging to Mr. Kazinda following his conviction on three counts of illicit enrichment.
Among the assets earmarked for seizure were four vehicles and multiple land titles, including Plot No. 190, Bukoto Estate, Plot No. 264, Bukoto Sabaddu and Plot No. 2132, Bukoto Mengo.
In April 2022, then Anti-Corruption Court Registrar Pamela Lumunu Ocaya instructed court bailiffs to evict Kazinda and all occupants from the properties and vest them in the Government of Uganda.
“You are hereby commanded to forcefully evict/remove the accused (Kazinda) and their agents from the said properties and vest them in the names of the Government of Uganda,” read the court directive.
Presiding Judge Margaret Tibulya had sentenced Kazinda to 15 years in prison, but following an appeal, the Court of Appeal reduced the term to seven years. However, the appellate court did not make a conclusive determination on the confiscation orders — prompting renewed efforts by the Anti-Corruption Court to enforce the seizures.
Kazinda later petitioned the East African Court of Justice, arguing that the renewed confiscation proceedings violated his rights and due process, hence seeking redress at the regional level.
Why the IGG Withdrew
According to an affidavit by Deputy IGG Patricia Achan Okiria, the IGG had initially sought to join the case on grounds that it prosecuted and executed the orders now under challenge. The ombudsman argued that it was therefore a necessary party to Civil Reference No. 48/2022 (Godfrey Kazinda vs Attorney General).
However, after legal scrutiny, the IGG conceded that it could not legally appear as a party before the EACJ, since the court’s jurisdiction restricts participation of certain national institutions in civil litigation.
The withdrawal now means that the Attorney General will solely represent the Government of Uganda in defending the confiscation orders and related enforcement actions.
This development underscores the jurisdictional limits of Uganda’s anti-corruption watchdog in regional judicial processes and sets a precedent for how similar cases may be handled in future.
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