The High Court of Uganda has dismissed the Judicial Review Application filed by the former Managing Director of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Mr. Richard Byarugaba, challenging the appointment of the current Managing Director, Mr. Patrick Ayota.

Byarugaba sought to quash the decision of the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development to appoint Ayota following the NSSF Board’s subsequent recommendation, having earlier rejected the Board’s initial recommendation to reappoint Byarugaba in the same position.

In a Ruling delivered today, 19^th April 2024, Justice Musa Ssekaana found all the prayers without any merit and dismissed the Application. He held that the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development is not a mere puppet of the NSSF Board to simply rubberstamp the Board’s decisions and, therefore, has the discretion to reject a recommendation if he/she deems it fit. A recommendation by the Board is not a directive to the Minister since the Minister as the appointing authority has some latitude of power to subject recommended persons to scrutiny and or reject the same and direct a fresh process of recruitment as it was done in this case. However, he added that the Minister’s exercise of discretion should never be curtailed by the Board recommending only one person for appointment.

Secondly, Justice Ssekaana held that the Minister was acting in accordance with the law when she appointed Ayota and owed no duty to grant Byaruhanga a hearing before coming to her conclusion.

Thirdly, on Byarugaba’s claim that he had a legitimate expectation to be reappointed as the NSSF Managing Director, the Court held that a legitimate expectation does not exist where the expectation relates to preventing the decision-maker from discharging a statutory duty. That what the Applicant calls his legitimate expectation was just a wish because an expectation must be more than a mere ‘hope’ or unrealistic expectation. Legitimate expectations go beyond enforceable legal rights, provided they have a reasonable basis.

Lastly, Byarugaba’s prayer to quash the appointment of Ayota which resulted from the Board’s recommendation could not be entertained since the Board was not made a party to the proceedings. Such a decision would violate the principle of fairness and would amount to condemning the Board unheard in respect of their decision to appoint Ayota.

Justice Ssekaana concluded that Mr. Patrick Ayota’s appointment as Managing Director of the NSSF followed the law as prescribed and should not be interfered with in absence of any justification or any breaches of the law. Mr. Richard Byarugaba’s entire Application failed and has been dismissed, with no order as to costs.