Court directs URA to pay UGX 51 million to ex-manager over flawed dismissal process

The Industrial Court of Uganda has ordered the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to pay a total of UGX 51 million to its former manager of compliance, David Kalemera, after concluding that the URA failed to grant him a fair hearing during his termination process.

In the award delivered Nov. 4, 2025, in David Kalemera v Uganda Revenue Authority, Justice Anthony Wabwire Musana and the panel emphasized that while the URA had sufficient justification to terminate Mr. Kalemera over gross misconduct related to a nearly UGX 518.5 million tax fraud scheme, the ensuing disciplinary process was so procedurally deficient it rendered the dismissal legally flawed.

The court found the URA violated principles of natural justice, which entitled Mr. Kalemera to compensation.

The court’s decision was rooted in the finding that the URA failed to afford Kalemera due process as required by the law and that the tax man’s own policies—effectively denying him the right to adequately defend himself against the grave charges of fraud, abetting offenses and conflict of interest.

The specific procedural failures cited by the Industrial Court included: Inadequate Notice for Hearing: Kalemera received the invitation to the disciplinary hearing on March 17, 2017, the same day the hearing was scheduled. The court found this minimal notice was insufficient time to prepare a robust defense against serious misconduct allegations.

Failure to Furnish Full Evidence: The URA failed to provide Kalemera with all necessary documents forming the basis of the charges, including the complete investigation report and key statements from material witnesses.

The court noted this omission directly hampered his ability to challenge the evidence presented by the authority.

Denial of Cross-Examination: Kalemera was improperly denied the opportunity to cross-examine material witnesses, such as a Chinese national identified as Wang Lei, whose bank transactions were central to the URA’s allegation of his involvement in the tax diversion scheme.

Because the court confirmed the URA was substantively justified in concluding Kalemera was involved in gross misconduct, it denied his request for severance pay. However, the finding of procedural unfairness mandated compensation for the breach of fair labor practices.

The court ordered the URA to pay Kalemera the total sum of UGX 51,053,836.9.

This amount was structured as: UGX 3,491,758 for four weeks’ net pay; UGX6,983,516 in general damages; and UGX 40,578,562.9 as a service award.

The court expressly stated that the amount for general damages was reduced due to the concurrent finding that the dismissal was justified by the claimant’s own misconduct.