By John V Sserwaniko
Gen Kale Kayihura, the besieged former IGP, has chosen Kampala Associated Advocates (KAA) to defend him in his impending Court Martial trial. To eliminate any doubt, especially after Caleb Alaka and Evans Ochieng were quoted telling Daily Monitor how they had been instructed, Kayihura’s hitherto introverted wife Angela came out Monday afternoon with a media statement insisting it was KAA, and no other firm, that had been hired to represent the General from Kisoro. This once again testifies to KAA’s market leader position when it comes to cashing in on high profile civil and criminal cases. In her written statement, Angela Kayihura informed the world that it’s KAA and no other law firm that has been hires to represent the ex-IGP. Her statement has left two city lawyers Caleb Alaka & Evans Ochieng with very big integrity problems on their hands and, once prompted, Law Council (charged with reprimanding lawyers who default on expected ethical conduct) could commence disciplinary proceedings against them. Angela came out to clear the air after Daily Monitor of Monday quoted the two younger lawyers saying they had been instructed by the General to be his attorneys.
But why and how does KAA always get high profile cases? We seek to answer this question in this special report.
THE CONTEXT;
In this news feature we reflect on factors favoring KAA to the extent that whoever gets issues requiring legal representation considers the Nakasero road-based law firm first choice. And it’s mostly the rich with vast financial means to pay the legal fees that come with efficient legal representation hiring KAA. But why is this so? What’s the uniqueness about KAA? Firstly the firm has vastly connected individuals serving as partners and advocates. These include Dr. Elly Karuhanga who is personally well known to the President having been his Nyabusozi MP for many years. Peter Kabatsi too is well known to the President at a personal level. There is Joseph Matsiko former Director Civil Litigation in the Ministry of Justice. Matsiko twice led the legal team that saved Museveni the disgrace of having his election nullified. This was 2001 and 2006 when Col Kizza Besigye petitioned challenging his election. In 2006, KAA as a firm represented the EC along with a Matsiko-led team of lawyers from the AG Chambers. In 3rd world jurisdictions like Uganda, it’s critical that litigants act pragmatically by hiring a firm that comprises of good prolific lawyers who know both the judge (basically people who matter in town) and the law. KAA fits this billing because it has the best lawyers who also know (or are well known by) people who matter outside the court room. Did you know that the current CJ Bart Katureebe is a founding partner at KAA? Granted he isn’t active and has nothing to do with what goes on at KAA House but mere learning that a whole CJ has some history with KAA is enough to emotionally embolden litigants to hire KAA. There is simply a lot of confidence that derives from a law firm being associated with someone at that level. Though you may not expect any favors, you are simply sure of not being maliced at any stage or level of the legal process. Boasting of over 30 prolific lawyers, KAA has the very best in every specialty.
THE SPECIALITIES;
It has Oscar Kambona who is Uganda’s best lawyer on tax matters. He is also very good at litigation only rivalled by the likes of Daudi Mpanga who, according to Chambers Global that ranks lawyers, is simply among the very best in the world. Its HR profile, KAA also has highly experienced and globally known Peter Kabatsi whose experience combines both criminal and civil practice. He was both DPP and Solicitor General at the Ministry of Justice. There is Sam Mayanja, an experienced researcher, publisher, teacher and law don. Mayanja is also a church minister. Having worked with the UN Economic Council during his expatriate days abroad, award-winning Mayanja is simply among the best lawyers when it comes to banking and finance. He has lectured at UCU, LDC, Makerere, Nkumba and other academic institutions. There is Dr. Charles Kalumia who is famous for being the first Ugandan law student ever to get a first class degree in law at Dar es Salaam University. He also for many years worked at the UN and at the time he left, he had grown to the rank of Director UNHCR. He has two masters’ degrees (LLM) from Oxford and Cambridge Universities plus a PhD from Harvard. As part of his refugee work, Dr. Kalumia oversaw the resettlement of people in post-conflict South Africa and Liberia. He is vastly educated, learned and globally connected. Kalumia, who likes to deliberately keep a low profile, rivals Olara Otunnu when it comes to UN connections. KAA also has David Mpanga (no relations with Daudi) who is simply one of Uganda’s finest lawyers when it comes to managing receiverships, corporate litigation, corporate governance advisory services, security exchange and IPOs. Elly Karuhanga, another colossus at KAA, is easily one of the most knowledgeable Ugandans when it comes to Petroleum & Gas matters. Joseph Matsiko surprised many when he left the government job at the Justice Ministry to go and work in private practice. He was still young and far from clocking retirement age. He famously told colleagues that, having won two presidential election petitions, it was time to move on when still considered relevant. KAA also has had a tendency of strategically hiring retired judicial officers retaining them as highly paid consultants including Kayihura’s uncle Justice Mulenga (RIP) and ex-Principal Judge Ntabgoba. He is very good on intellectual property matters having been contracted to pioneer a lot of it in SADC region (especially Zambia) before becoming Principal Judge (PJ) in the post-1986 Uganda. Ntabgoba was also highly respected as PJ and his being on board speaks volumes about the very high standards KAA stands for. He was replaced by James Ogoola as PJ. He is vastly knowledgeable on court room etiquette and behavior of judges. His daughter Justina works with MTN Uganda where she holds an influential position in the corporate affairs department. Ntabgoba is also vastly experienced on succession and Administration of Estate matters having served as Administrator General in the central government. He hails from Kisoro just like Peter Kabatsi, Justice Mulenga, Dr. Kalumia and the firm’s newest big name client Kale Kayihura. Because they have many big name lawyers with vast experience in the respective fields, KAA always assigns a number of lawyers to handle one case: some will do the actual appearance to articulate matters before a judge as others do research and others do client engagement and updating. The Sudhir case for instance was assigned 7 lawyers and the Kayihura one has been assigned 5 best lawyers at the firm namely Peter Kabatsi, Joseph Matsiko, youthful Ellison Karuhanga and others. Kayihura chose them specifically after being advised that, if chance came, reconciliation would be easier to hammer out since KAA comprises of guys the President has previously done business with including personally instructed by him to play a role in the rebel MPs’ case. Hiring opposition-leaning lawyers could only widen the wedge between Kayihura and Museveni.
KAA CLIENTELE;
To understand what KAA are capable of, one simply has to reflect on the clients they have and tasks they have accomplished before. KAA is the firm that turned tables on BoU and created breathing space for Sudhir Rupalleria who many feared would collapse because of the anxiety the BoU closure of his Crane Bank had occasioned. They remain Sudhir’s lawyers particularly Kabatsi & Matsiko. It’s generally believed that even before the final decision is proclaimed by Court, Sudhir believes he is in good standing against BoU and doesn’t regret his prudent decision to hire KAA. They famously caused court to force out law firms MMAKS & Mpanga’s BOWMAN on grounds of conflict of interest having previously legally advised both Sudhir and BoU. Besides representing Museveni in election petitions, KAA was also famously involved in the prosecution of Kizza Besigye in the treason trial in the late 2000s. When the public and CSOs made a lot of noise, bordering on ethnicity because Elly Karuhanga comes from where Museveni comes, it was tactfully decided that KAA pulls out. Sam Mayanja individually remained working with Simon Byabakama who was then Deputy DPP. The two faced Besigye defense lawyer Daudi Mpanga until a constitutional reference was made to Constitutional Court which let Besigye off the hook basing on technical grounds.
SAVING THE CATHOLIC BANK;
Some 10 years ago, Catholics in Parishes came together and protested their exclusion from the governing BOD of Centenary Bank. They argued that, because the bank was started using capital which parishioners contributed, it’s them (and not the Dioceses) that should be represented on the BOD. KAA, which had just started, unleashed Sam Mayanja and Peter Kabatsi to represent the Bank against this claim. In the end, Justice Ogoola who headed Commercial Court decided in favor of the bank and the anxiety ended. Emmanuel Wamala, who was Cardinal, was so excited he privately hosted the two lawyers at his residence and gave them prizes. Yiga Semuyaba represented the other group. Next came the Blue Line case that was filed in the Tanzanian courts. It was filed by a borrower against EADB whose dissolution the lower Tanzanian courts had already ordered. KAA’s Mayanja & Kabatsi prosecuted an appeal and saved EADB. It wasn’t an easy case because some of the Blue Line directors were men & women of great political connections in the Tanzanian establishment. The lower courts had awarded costs exceeding the bank’s capital. KAA is also retained as the external firm for many government entities including CAA, UCC and others. Until Allen Kagina became ED, UNRA was also their client. Matsiko would represent UNRA in many arbitration negotiations and saved billions. Among private sector entities, KAA has high profiled clients like MTN, BIDCO, Mukwano, the Madhvani Group and UMEME just to mention a few. Yet that isn’t all. KAA is also retained by many commercial banks to sit on their legal panels. These sit annually to advise the banks on the suitability of maintaining certain employees and service providers. The banks include Centenary, Stanbic and Standard Chartered etc. DFCU dropped out on grounds of conflict of interest after influential KAA founding partner Elly Karuhanga became member of its governing BOD.
GETTING KAYIHURA; As soon he knew the CiC YK Museveni had sealed his fate and the military operation was underway to arrest him, Gen Kayihura rang his wife Angela briefing her to urgently look for Peter Kabatsi and instruct him to have KAA defend him against whatever charges the Museveni state will be preferring against him in the Military Court Martial. Indeed KAA, falling back on its partners’ vast contacts in high places, worked very hard to secure the initial access to the incarcerated Gen Kayihura because even his wife, Angela, didn’t know where to start from.
WHO IS WHO @ KAA
PETER KABATSI; One of the things that make KAA tick is its employment of the heavyweights of the legal profession in a specialized manner. In his case, PK became DPP in the post-1986 Uganda and this was after long experience as a prosecutor in the same Directorate. He became the DPP’s most famous and feared prosecutor in the 1970s and even the Idi Amin generals respected him as counsel who knew his stuff. Amin decreed that knowledgeable Kabatsi, whose boss and mentor was Francis Ayume (then DPP), had to attend all Amin military tribunal sessions as an advisor. “He [Kabatsi] is a nice man who used that clout to legally advise the Amin junta and in the process saved many people that would have died innocently since the Amin Generals always came with pre-conceived judgments against suspects brought before the tribunal,” recalls a retired civil servant who saw Kabatsi grow through the ranks at the Justice Ministry. The retired civil servant gave the example of a one Saad, a leading businessman from Kasese, who Kabatsi saved the gallows. Juma Butabika, one of the most dreaded Generals of the Amin era, was in the chair at the tribunal that day and Kabatsi sat in to guide on the law and general procedure. The Amin junta accused Saad of smuggling via the Congo border. At the start of the hearing session, Butabika (named so because of his fierce character) asked Kabatsi “how come I don’t see the film people here [meant video people to record the day’s proceedings]? I’m sending this man to the firing squad.” Realizing the danger arising from the fact that Butabika had already condemned Saad unheard, Kabatsi excused himself and notified his boss Ayume who used his clout when it came to influencing Amin and got the President to intervene. And that’s how Saad survived death at the end of the economic tribunal’s hearing that day. The retired old man says there are many other Ugandans who escaped gallows because of Kabatsi’s relentless efforts to fearlessly advise the military junta. In early 80s when the UPCs came back, Kabatsi fled to exile and during this time trained in the Dutch and German legal procedures and practice which enabled him get a job as expatriate DPP for Lesotho and Swaziland. On being persuaded by Museveni, Kabatsi returned after 1986 and the nascent NRA/M government named him DPP and years later was elevated to Solicitor General at the Ministry of Justice. While at Justice, Kabatsi (who for long has been declining Museveni’s offer to become a judge) mentored many young lawyers, prosecutors and State Attorneys who are now judges. Such people have nothing but respect for him. After being Solicitor General, Kabatsi called it quits in 2001 and joined others like Bart Katureebe, Elly Karuhanga etc to found KAA which has since gone on to become topmost ranking law firm in Uganda with lots of international affiliations. He hails from Sembabule where his wealth closely rivals that of Sam Kutesa and despite his wife Joy Kabatsi perennially competing with Kutesa-backed Anifa Kawooya, the two men have nothing but respect for each other. Each time they cross each other’s path, Sam Kutesa will stand up in honor of senior counsel Peter Kabatsi who the President equally respects. A story told by State House officials simply illustrates the wealth of the Kabatsis. Sometime in late 2000s, President Museveni appointed Joy Kabatsi to be legal director State House and the PPS and comptroller had to find a befitting vehicle for her. As they waited for the machine they had ordered, Joy Kabatsi turned up with a posh brand new BMW (X5) whose money worth by far exceeded the vehicle they had ordered for her as a State House employee. Indeed, they gave up plans to get her a government car and indeed for all the years she served as Director Legal, Joy Kabatsi cruised in her private BMW which Peter had procured for her to specifically befit her new status as Director Legal for the highest office in the land. For many years, Kabatsi fuelled this fuel guzzler and never claimed a refund. His wife for months went without pay because of the bureaucracy that precedes one being put on the government payroll and Joy went about her duties, loyally serving her president, without any grumbling. PK is vastly connected globally having served as President for the International Law Commission which is an organ of the UN charged with advising the UNSC and UNGA on legal matters. It’s like the AG chambers of the UN. At KAA, peers are proud of the role he played as one of the defense lawyers representing Uganda before the ICJ during the hearing of the DRC plunder case. Having been tasked by Museveni, Kabatsi also personally led arbitration negotiations which saw the Westmont Malaysian investors denounce their claim in UCB. The matter was successfully negotiated in favor of the GoU. Yet Kabatsi’s strongest point isn’t his well-illustrated accomplishments on the bar but rather his humility. Even when many like ex-AG Fred Ruhindi went through his hands, PK remains humble and down to earth. Never one to blow his own trumpet, very few Kampalans would recognize or identify him on the streets. In choosing him to lead his defense team, Kayihura must have been fascinated by the fact that this is someone who best knows how to handle criminal matters because many of our contemporary prosecutors have directly or indirectly gone through his hands.
ELLY KARUHANGA; There are many reasons why KAA greatly benefited from having him on board from inception in 2001. Elly Karuhanga abandoned his very productive legislative career as Nyabusozi MP and teamed up with Bart Katureebe and others to found KAA. As of 2001, he was one of the few NRM ideologues who could appear on a talk show (Capital Gang it was) to competently debate with Kizza Besigye who had just fallen out with Museveni. KB then was more articulate and persuasive than today and many found his promises to topple Museveni more believable than today. Karuhanga is a solid lawyer having started out as a State Attorney at the AG chambers. He had a stint in the foreign affairs ministry for which he was a lead negotiator in the UN-supervised negotiations for the Law of the Sea. In Parliament, Karuhanga famously chaired the Presidential & Foreign Affairs Committee and was a powerful backbencher matching charismatic legislators of those days like Aggrey Awori, Winnie Byanyima, Norbert Mao, Ben Wacha, Ekullo Epak, Dick Nyai and others. The vibrancy and prestige he ushered into the Committee ended in the 6th Parliament (1996-2001). Karuhanga, who one retired judge we spoke to described as a solid lawyer, had his own law firm which he dissolved at the start of KAA. Like many other eminent Ugandans, he too had a stint in exile in places like South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. While there, he made connections with prestigious law firms which later on came in handy as KAA sought credible international affiliations. These are crucial when seeking to cash in on international investors coming to Uganda. His great corporate lawyering skills explain why entities like DFCU, BAT, PSFU and others couldn’t resist putting him on their governing BODs. Besides his KAA work, Karuhanga these days does a lot of Petroleum & Gas-related work. He also chairs an entity bringing together private sector actors in Petroleum & Mines. This explains why he has been outspoken on local content into our nascent petroleum sector. While in politics, Karuhanga inevitably made enemies who have occasionally gotten up to scandalize KAA using platforms like Parliament.
OSCAR KAMBONA; He is a leading tax lawyer but also very good generally on litigation. In the bad old days at URA, when expatriate Aslandy was still Commissioner General, Museveni borrowed Kambona from KAA and hired him to help strengthen the URA legal department. URA then was being sued a lot and Museveni was anxious many of the cases were being lost something that risked bankrupting the tax body. After reorganizing the legal department, Allen Kagina took over and Museveni released Kambona back to KAA. Each time they meet him, KAA bosses jokingly ask Museveni to pay for the business opportunities foregone for the period they missed one of their best legal brains. In legal circles, Kambona’s legal brilliance is likened to that of Kabaka’s man Daudi Mpanga. Scribes, judges and court staff generally always wait with anticipation for the session when the two lawyers are to meet and argue for their adverse clients. The resultant arguments and witticism can be very intriguing, entertaining and educative.
SAM MAYANJA; He is a law don who has taught at UCU, Makerere, Nkumba and LDC among other academic institutions. His career has seen him do many things including co-authoring the Law Focus that was quarterly produced by LDC. Under Benjamin Odoki’s supervision, Mayanja also used to co-author the High Court monthly bulletin which compiled and made available summaries of major decisions of that Court. He worked with the UN Economic Commission for Africa whereafter he returned to Uganda and vastly contributed to the development of jurisprudence on banking and finance. As a specialist in banking and finance, Mayanja does most of the research, drafting and relevant KAA documentation on cases relating to banks. He was legal Advisor to Uganda Development Bank (UDB) and bank secretary. He was also for many years the legal advisor to EADB. When KAA got criticized for spearheading the treason prosecution of Kizza Besigye, the firm tactfully withdrew leaving Mayanja to spearhead prosecution along with then D/DPP Simon Byabakama now of EC. This was in late 2000s and KB got off the hook after Constitutional Court dismissed the case on technicalities. Through his regular articles in New Vision and other major publications, Mayanja helps portray KAA as an authority on many things. His pieces are always quoted by scholars as source of authority on Ugandan legally complicated developments. He famously wrote an article giving his views why the Kayihura private prosecution in the Makindye court was ill-conceived. This no doubt increased KK’s confidence in KAA. He has also vastly published on the Buganda question, the kingdom’s history and Mailo land. Many times his controversial views have rattled feathers at Mengo. He one time famously questioned the legal existence of BLB. Besides writing guiding opinions for the Bamugemereire land inquiry, Mayanja has also actively participated in cases like the rebel MPs of course on the Museveni side. He is a very unrepentant Musevenist and was among those who (in vain) prayed for reconciliation between Museveni and JPAM. When veteran journalist Dr. Mashate sued Museveni personally in the London court and was awarded millions of pounds, Mayanja and Matsiko are the two lawyers Museveni assigned to appeal and reverse that award. They succeeded, leaving Mashate agonizing. In 2000, government closed UDB and a three man team was instituted to restructure and re-open Uganda’s only development bank. The chair was John Downer, a Briton and the other two members were Mayanja and Dr. Akia, a Ghanaian.
DR. CHARLES KALUMIA; He quit his UN job, where he had grown to Director UNHCR, to join others to found KAA in 2001. The introverted man from Kisoro was the first Ugandan to get a first class in law at Dar es Salaam University. He has masters’ degrees from Oxford and Cambridge Universities plus a PhD from Harvard. He is formally one of the most educated lawyers in Uganda and of course at KAA. On UN assignment, he oversaw the resettlement of millions of people displaced by conflict in Charles Taylor’s Liberia and Dutch South Africa.
JOSEPH MATSIKO; As Director civil litigation, with a very successful career to his name, Matsiko surprised many when he opted for early retirement and left the Justice Ministry. He was among those Solicitor General Kabatsi mentored and supervised. Matsiko quit after successfully defending the GoU against two very exhaustive presidential election petitions filed by the indomitable Kizza Besigye. He preferred to quit at a time many still considered him relevant at the Justice Ministry where his team-building skills continue to be missed to this day. Perhaps leveraging on contacts he made while at Justice Ministry, Matsiko is the man through whom wealthy clients like CAA, UCC and others continue to engage KAA on retainer basis. UNRA too was his but left when Kagina became ED and opted to strengthen in-house capability. His calm (almost shy) demeanor makes clients comfortable when narrating their case. He is having personal conduct of the Sudhir case along with Peter Kabatsi.
HERBERT NTABGOBA; The vastly connected ex-PJ is retained by KAA as a consultant on many matters including Succession, Estates Administration & intellectual property which generally is a new area in the Ugandan jurisprudence. His presence at KAA inspires respect for the firm amongst legal fraternity members and members of the bench many of whom went through his hands as a mentor while still PJ.
DAVID MPANGA; He is KAA’s go-to person for all matters relating to corporate litigation, IPOs, Security Exchange, Receiverships and Corporate Governance. Many often mistaken him for Kabaka’s man Daudi Mpanga yet there aren’t even related save for being clans-mates.
ELISON KARUHANGA; This firebrand lawyer is very eloquent and he is the son of Elly Karuhanga. But that is not the reason he works at KAA. He had his own law firm which he was persuaded to dissolve to come and work with KAA. This was preceded by departure of equally young (employee) advocates like Paul Kutesa (now of ACARDIA), Clare Rukundo Aryamanya, Afra Mpungu and others. He is the young man who used to raise very compelling arguments for the respondents during the Mbabazi presidential election petition in 2016. He has been active and visible on the Sudhir legal team and you can be sure to see him even much more during the Kayihura trial. In his own right, Ellison has previously represented EC and DFCU long before joining KAA.
JET TUMWEBAZE; The former Makerere students leader has been with KAA since leaving school some years ago. He recently raised the firm’s profile when he redeemed Margaret Zziwa winning for her what many considered a bad case, for an equally difficult client, in the East African Court of Justice. It challenged the procedural improprieties manifested in the way fellow EALA MPs ganged up and voted out Zziwa who was their Speaker.
BRUCE MUSINGUZI; He has a very promising career in commercial law having previously ably represented UCC against Traces TV of South Africa and MTN Uganda against Abdul Katuntu who challenged the legality of Mobile Money services. He has also been active in the Sudhir case. Other promising young lawyers boosting the KAA profile include Isaac Kyagaba and Augustine Idoot Obilil just to mention a few. There is also Zuraiha Kasaja who is a corporate lawyer with a growing bias on Islamic Banking and laws relating to ICTs. For comments, call/text/whatsapp us on 0703164755.
