City lawyer loses bid to freeze Shs10.6m Makerere costs bill

The High Court has refused to freeze a Shs10.6m costs award against lawyer Robert Rutaro, ruling he showed no substantial loss and offered no security

Advocate Robert Rutaro addresses the media. The High Court has dismissed his bid to freeze a Shs10.6m costs award to Makerere University.

Advocate Robert Rutaro addresses the media. The High Court has dismissed his bid to freeze a Shs10.6m costs award to Makerere University.

KAMPALA — A lawyer has lost his attempt to delay paying more than Shs10.6m in legal costs to Makerere University, after the High Court dismissed his application.

Robert Rutaro had asked the court to freeze the costs award while he appeals against an earlier ruling that went against him. He argued that paying now could undermine his appeal.

But Justice Collins Acellam rejected the request in a ruling on 10 August. He said Mr Rutaro had not shown that paying the sum would cause him substantial loss, or that it could not be refunded if his appeal succeeded.

The judge also noted that Mr Rutaro had offered no security for the debt, and that a valid court award could not be frozen simply because an appeal was pending.

Makerere told the court it had not yet demanded the money or begun to enforce the award. The university’s secretary, Yusuf Kiranda, said in a sworn statement that there were no immediate plans to do so.

The costs stem from a case Mr Rutaro brought and lost. He had challenged the legality of the Makerere University Convocation’s annual general meeting of December 2022, which was held amid disputed elections and complaints of irregularities.

That challenge was dismissed with costs in May 2024. The university’s bill was initially Shs18.33m but was reduced to Shs10.6m by a taxing officer.

Mr Rutaro is appealing against the original ruling at the Court of Appeal. Justice Acellam said he was making no judgment on the appeal’s merits, which were a matter for that court.