There is suspected conflict of interest and deliberate move by court to ignore the glaring illegalities in the case
of Ham contrary to several previous decisions of court.
It should be noted that it is a well settled principle in Uganda legal jurisprudence
that once an illegality is brought to the attention of court the same cannot be ignored and courts have been quick to resolve that issue.
The case of Ham against DTB however is different as we have seen that whereas the issue of DTB Kenya having operated in Uganda illegally has been disregarded even after DTB not merely admitting but
also having the same on court record and judgement entered on the
same in the high court of Uganda at commercial division.
DTB appealed to the higher court but surprisingly all grounds of appeal
including the issue of illegality was deliberately ignored and the court
instead referred the said matter back to the high court for a retrial.
Whereof Ham appealed to the Supreme Court where the lawyers of DTB again admitted the said issue of illegality but tried to hold the Supreme Court justices at ransom by influencing their decision by stating that in the event the justice of the Supreme Court resolved the issue of illegality in favour of Ham then it would affect the economy and have a lasting effect on the banking sector.
However, that position is not only an attempt to influence the decision
of the Supreme Court but also an issue of conflict of interest and
hypocrisy to the nation. It should be noted that DTB is represented by
K& K advocates and the Attorney General Mr Kiryowa Kiwanuka who
would have the interest of Ugandans at heart is instead defending DTB
in an illegality and yet several Ugandans and Ugandan businesses have been closed and the owners including vendors have been arrested,prosecuted and imprisoned over the issue of operating without licenses and yet the Attorney General is defending DTB which
operated in uganda without a license contrary to sections 4 and 117 of the financial institutions Act (2004).
This is hypocrisy and a conflict
of interest and deliberate mockery of Ugandan courts and laws.
Ham’s case not only exposes the double standards in our country but also makes a case for the common man who has suffered at the hands of government, in Kampala particularly, vendors on streets without licenses have been arrested in large numbers and presented before
courts of law and they are eventually thrown in Luzira yet these men
and woman are bread winners and struggling to earn a living so as to
sustain their families.
However, the Attorney General who sees fault in Ugandan citizens who are vendors operating on streets or without
licenses to earn a living cannot come up to condemn DTB for operating
illegally but rather offer them protection.
The judiciary has always exercised its independence and its yet again
for the judiciary to stand firm and strongly pronounce itself on
illegalities, because an illegality will always be an illegality irrespective
of the clothing it is given. Ugandans are closely following to see if justice is only served against poor Ugandans who are struggling to feed their families and not rich multinational and foreign entities
which consider Uganda a playing ground and lawless where they can commit illegalities and bypass the law.
We call upon all Ugandans both those who have been affected as a aresult of operating without licenses and those who are keen to upholding of rule of law to follow the case of Ham Vs DTB closely as it is yet to be another precedent in the banking sector as regards operation of financial institutions without licenses because just as any other business or individual, banks are not above the law and therefore the law cannot be applied selectively regardless of the consequences that would arise from courts of justice faulting a bank
that operated or operates illegally as the same would not only send a strong warning to any other instruction which would think of operating in a similar in future but would also show that Ugandan courts do not apply the law selectively and there is no mockery of justice in uganda.
In conclusion as the Hustlers Movement of Uganda, we have faith in the judiciary of uganda and we are confident that the Supreme Court justices will uphold the rule of law and apply the law as it is and hence not condone further illegalities by banks as the case of Ham will set a
clear precedence.
For God And My Country
Adam Kyazze Kasiimu ,chairman of Kisenyi one traders.A member of Hustlers movement Uganda
