(b) any act or omission by any person or authority, is
inconsistent with or in contravention of a provision of
this Constitution, may petition the constitutional
court for a declaration to that effect, and for redress
where appropriate.
5
In Ismael Serugo v. Kampala City Council, Constitutional Appeal
No. 02 of 1998, the Supreme Court (Kanyeihamba, JSC) reviewed its
decision in Attorney General v David Tinyefuza (supra) and stated
thus:
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There is a number offacets to the decision of the Supreme Court in that
case. Nevertheless, when it comes to that Court’s view of the jurisdiction
of the Court of Appeal as a Constitutional Court, its decision in that case
is that the Constitutional Court has no original jurisdiction merely to
enforce rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution in isolation to
interpreting the Constitution and resolving any dispute as to the meaning
of its provisions. The judgment of the majority in that case, [Wambuzi,
C.J., Tsekooko J.S.C., Karokora J.S.C., and Kanyeihamba J.S.C], is that
to be clothed with jurisdiction at all, the Constitutional Court must be
petitioned to determine the meaning of any part of the Constitution in
addition to whatever remedies are sought from it in the same petition. It
is therefore erroneous for any petition to rely solely on the provisions of
Article 50 or any other Article of the Constitution without reference to the
provisions of Article 137 which is the sole Article that breathes life in the
jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal as a Constitutional Court.
The Supreme Court (Wambuzi, CJ) in Attorney General v. Tinyefuza
(supra) set out the limits of the jurisdiction of this court as provided for
in Article 137 (1) of the Constitution, as follows:
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“In my view, jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court is limited in Article
137 (1) of the Constitution to interpretation of the Constitution. Put in a
different way no other jurisdiction apart from interpretation of the
Constitution is given. In these circumstances, I would hold that unless
the question before the Constitutional Court depends for its determination
on the interpretation of the Constitution or construction of a provision of
the Constitution, the Constitutional Court has no jurisdiction.”
In similar vein, Mulenga, JSC, stated thus:
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