Betty Amongi, the former minister of Gender and Labour, acted illegally and unlawfully when she fired Osborn Turyasigura, an employee in the ministry, over allegations that he used forged academic documents to acquire a job, the court has ruled.
In a ruling, Justice Simon Peter Kinobe declared that the decision to terminate Turyasigura was illegal and procedurally improper because Amongi did not give Turyasigura a chance to defend himself.
The case arose from Turyasigura’s appointment as secretary of the National Secretariat for Special Interest Groups in the ministry in April 2025 on a two-year contract, subject to a six-month probationary period.
That probation ended on November 1, 2025, but before it lapsed, Turyasigura wrote to Amongi, asking to be confirmed in his position.
His supervisors also backed him, but Amongi did not confirm him, and instead, on March 5, 2026, she extended his probation up to March 31, 2026.
Turyasigura challenged the extension, arguing that it was made long after his original probation had ended and without a lawful reason.
He was told that Amongi had been busy with campaign activities and therefore had not completed his assessment.
The dispute then took a more serious turn when, on April 1, 2026, Amongi terminated Turyasigura’s employment.
This time, the reason given was that he had secured his appointment using forged academic documents.
Turyasigura denied the allegation, saying he had a genuine master’s degree in Public Administration and Management from Makerere University, although he had graduated after his appointment.
He said he had relied on a letter from Makerere University confirming completion of the programme.
The ministry gave a different account.
According to the affidavit filed on its behalf, a whistleblower had petitioned the Inspectorate of Government on April 15, 2025, alleging that Turyasigura had submitted forged academic papers during recruitment.
It said investigations later found problems with the documents, and Makerere University was asked to verify the qualification.
According to the university’s response, Turyasigura had been admitted for the Master’s programme in the 2023/2024 academic year and formally graduated on February 27, 2026.
However, the documents presented during recruitment allegedly showed that the degree had been awarded on January 15, 2025, more than a year before his actual graduation.
The ministry also told the court that the certificate carried the signature of a Registrar who had retired before Turyasigura had even been admitted to the university.
It further argued that forgery amounted to gross misconduct and a criminal offence.
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But the central question was whether the ministry had followed a fair process before using the serious allegation as the reason for terminating Turyasigura’s employment contract. And this is where the ministry’s case fell apart.
Justice Kinobe said that once Amongi decided to rely on an investigation and allegations of forgery, Turyasigura had to be allowed to respond.
He said the minister could exercise discretion in appointments, but that discretion had limits.
“Such discretion, however unfettered, must be exercised judiciously and in accordance with established principles of fairness,” Justice Kinobe said.
He added that when reasons such as forged documents are given for rejecting or terminating an appointment, those reasons become part of the person’s official record and can affect their future employment.
“The [accused] must be allowed to be heard during the investigations, to respond to the allegations, and to present his explanation,” Justice Kinobe said.
He said this did not happen in Turyasigura’s case, noting that he was not summoned or allowed to answer the allegations before his termination.
Instead, he noted, Amongi relied on the investigation and made the decision to terminate him, adding that this was procedurally improper.
“Once such grave allegations are raised, the dictates of fairness require that the [accused] be interrogated and allowed to respond,” Justice Kinobe ruled.
He concluded that the failure to give Turyasigura a hearing“occasioned a miscarriage of justice and amounted to procedural irregularity.
“On those two grounds alone, I grant this application,” he said.
He consequently declared that the ministry had acted illegally and with procedural impropriety in terminating Turyasigura.
He quashed the decision to dismiss him and prohibited the ministry from enforcing or taking further action under that decision.
Turyasigura had sought general and punitive damages for what he described as embarrassment, stigma and inconvenience caused by his termination, but Justice Kinobe said the damages had not been proved.
