The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has written to businessman Hamis Kiggundu responding to his complaint he raised against the Principal Judge Flavian Zeija.
The chairman of JSC Hon Benjamin Kabiito in a letter dated November 9, told Hamis alias Ham that his petition against the said judicial officer had been received and put under evaluation.
“We acknowledge receipt of your complaint against the above mentioned Judicial Officer,” Kabiito said.
He added: “the complaint has been forwarded to registrar Planning, Research and Inspectorate Julius Mwebembezi for evaluation.”
Ham, the CEO of Ham Enterprises last month requested the JSC to investigate Mr Zeija’s conduct in his case against Diamond Trust Bank (DTB).
Ham’s discontent stems from the Judge’s decision to order the stay of execution of the Commercial Court ruling in which Justice Henry Adonyo directed DTB to refund shs 120 billion to Hamis Kiggundu alias Ham.
“In conclusion, we request the commission to investigate the matter under article 147 of the constitution and section 27 of the Judicial service act together with the judicial service (complaints and disciplinary Proceedings) Regulation 2005. As there are several people with similar complaints,” part of Ham’s petition reads.
Ham said the way Zeija is handling his file is a “judicial misconduct” because of his unfair biased actions towards the businessman as he favours the bank.
“Since he is a former Banker, having served at Finca Uganda and Tropical Bank of Africa; his loyalty is inclined towards supporting banks against clients in courts of law taking advantage of his superior high-ranking position in the Judiciary.
This is evident from his misconduct with our file right from the start when we filed the plaint where on various occasions, to mention but a few very significant ones,” Ham suggested.
He added: “Without notice, he summoned the file when it was before the deputy registrar, Her Worship Dr. Agnes Nkonge, giving it direction in regard to our application for an injunction against the bank. As a fact, the final Extracted Order Subjecting us to a condition of paying 30% we received was divergent from the hearing proceedings before her worship and this left doubt in our minds to date.
He further summoned the deputy registrar, her worship Dr. Agnes Nkonge during the handling of Miscellaneous Application No. 34 of 2020 with knowledge of the defendants but without any notification to we the plaintiffs or our lawyers.”
Ham reasoned that the actions of the principal judge not only had compromised the independence of the Judiciary but had equally seen him betray his oath to uphold justice, promote democratic principles, uphold the rule of law and safeguard the constitution through protection of human rights for all citizens of Uganda.
