News
Insurance body asks court to dismiss ex-CEO Kaddunabbi’s case
Kaddunabbi is seeking an interim order against the implementation of the IRA board resolution of February 16, 2026, in which board members, by majority decision, declined to recommend the renewal of his contract by the Minister of Finance.
Former Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim Lubega Kaddunabbi. (File photo)
By: Farooq Kasule, Journalist @New Vision
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Lawyers representing the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) have asked the High Court to dismiss an application for an interim order filed by former chief executive officer Ibrahim Lubega Kaddunabbi.
Kaddunabbi is seeking an interim order against the implementation of the IRA board resolution of February 16, 2026, in which board members, by majority decision, declined to recommend the renewal of his contract by the Minister of Finance.
Through its lawyers, John Musiime and Kenneth Mugira, IRA argues that the interim order sought by Kaddunabbi seeks to preserve a state of affairs that ceased to exist on May 31, 2026, when his contract expired.
“The application is therefore overtaken by events and must be dismissed,” Musiime argued.
Citing the case of Legal Brains Trust versus Attorney General, EACJ Civil Appeal No. 4 of 2012, Musiime submitted that judicial power exists to resolve real controversies and not abstract or hypothetical disputes that have been overtaken by events.
Musiime further submitted that Kaddunabbi cannot simultaneously rely on the minister’s intervention, the Auditor General’s investigations and evidence arising from board processes as proof that his candidature remained under consideration after February 16, 2026.
“Having engaged with and responded to those processes, the applicant (Kaddunabbi) cannot now be heard to contend that they are legally irrelevant or did not materially alter the factual matrix before court,” Musiime submitted.
In asking the court to dismiss the application, Musiime argued that interim relief preserves existing rights while they subsist and cannot revive rights that have already expired.
“We therefore invite this court to find that there is no subsisting status quo capable of preservation through the orders sought,” Musiime submitted.
Citing the case of Legal Brains Trust versus Attorney General, EACJ Civil Appeal No. 4 of 2012, Musiime submitted that judicial power exists to resolve real controversies and not abstract or hypothetical disputes that have been overtaken by events.
Musiime further submitted that Kaddunabbi cannot simultaneously rely on the minister’s intervention, the Auditor General’s investigations and evidence arising from board processes as proof that his candidature remained under consideration after February 16, 2026.
“Having engaged with and responded to those processes, the applicant (Kaddunabbi) cannot now be heard to contend that they are legally irrelevant or did not materially alter the factual matrix before court,” Musiime submitted.
In asking the court to dismiss the application, Musiime argued that interim relief preserves existing rights while they subsist and cannot revive rights that have already expired.
“We therefore invite this court to find that there is no subsisting status quo capable of preservation through the orders sought,” Musiime submitted.
He further argued that the balance of convenience favours maintaining the current administrative arrangements pending the determination of the substantive judicial review application.
“The applicant’s (Kaddunabbi) contractual tenure expired on May 31, 2026, and the circumstances upon which the administrative interim order was granted no longer exist,” Musiime said.
However, Kaddunabbi, through his lawyer, Isaac Bakayana, argues that there is an imminent threat of implementation of the board’s resolution to his detriment before the main case is determined.
High Court judge Joyce Kavuma has set June 29 for delivery of her ruling on the matter.
Main case
In a judicial review application filed at the Civil Division of the High Court in Kampala on June 1, 2026, Kaddunabbi seeks an order quashing the board’s February 16 decision declining to recommend the renewal of his contract for another five-year term.
Kaddunabbi argues that the board acted irrationally and breached the rules of natural justice when it declined to recommend him for reappointment.
His contract expired on May 31, 2026. Prior to that, he had expressed interest in being recommended for another term.
He argues that he remains eligible for reappointment under the IRA Human Resource Manual and the Insurance Act.
Kaddunabbi was first appointed chief executive officer in May 2011 and was subsequently reappointed on August 25, 2016, in line with Section 21(2)(a) of the Insurance Act, Cap 213, which did not provide term limits for the position.
However, that law was repealed and replaced by the Insurance Act, 2017, which introduced a limit of two five-year terms for the chief executive officer.
In May 2021, Kaddunabbi was reappointed for another five-year term at the helm of the insurance regulator.
He contends that the 2017 Act cannot be applied retrospectively to terms served before its enactment and therefore argues that he remains eligible for a further five-year term.
The IRA, however, contends that Kaddunabbi’s employment contract was strictly for a fixed term of five years commencing on June 1, 2021, having already served more than 10 years under the previous law.
Court documents indicate that the board, by majority vote, declined to renew Kaddunabbi’s contract for several reasons, including the alleged unauthorised adjustment of his salary without board approval or ministerial consent, which reportedly cost the authority sh337m by June 30, 2025.
Other concerns cited include the alleged unauthorised recruitment of six excess staff between February and March 2024, resulting in an unbudgeted and unapproved financial burden of sh647m on the authority.
In an affidavit, former IRA board chairperson Dr Isaac Nabeta Nkote stated that Kaddunabbi’s contract naturally and legally expired through effluxion of time on May 31, 2026.
Nkote further claims that the board rejected Kaddunabbi’s reappointment after considering the Auditor General’s report of May 15, 2026, which allegedly identified several administrative and financial shortcomings under his stewardship.
“The applicant’s (Kaddunabbi) contractual tenure expired on May 31, 2026, and the circumstances upon which the administrative interim order was granted no longer exist,” Musiime said.
However, Kaddunabbi, through his lawyer, Isaac Bakayana, argues that there is an imminent threat of implementation of the board’s resolution to his detriment before the main case is determined.
High Court judge Joyce Kavuma has set June 29 for delivery of her ruling on the matter.
Main case
In a judicial review application filed at the Civil Division of the High Court in Kampala on June 1, 2026, Kaddunabbi seeks an order quashing the board’s February 16 decision declining to recommend the renewal of his contract for another five-year term.
Kaddunabbi argues that the board acted irrationally and breached the rules of natural justice when it declined to recommend him for reappointment.
His contract expired on May 31, 2026. Prior to that, he had expressed interest in being recommended for another term.
He argues that he remains eligible for reappointment under the IRA Human Resource Manual and the Insurance Act.
Kaddunabbi was first appointed chief executive officer in May 2011 and was subsequently reappointed on August 25, 2016, in line with Section 21(2)(a) of the Insurance Act, Cap 213, which did not provide term limits for the position.
However, that law was repealed and replaced by the Insurance Act, 2017, which introduced a limit of two five-year terms for the chief executive officer.
In May 2021, Kaddunabbi was reappointed for another five-year term at the helm of the insurance regulator.
He contends that the 2017 Act cannot be applied retrospectively to terms served before its enactment and therefore argues that he remains eligible for a further five-year term.
The IRA, however, contends that Kaddunabbi’s employment contract was strictly for a fixed term of five years commencing on June 1, 2021, having already served more than 10 years under the previous law.
Court documents indicate that the board, by majority vote, declined to renew Kaddunabbi’s contract for several reasons, including the alleged unauthorised adjustment of his salary without board approval or ministerial consent, which reportedly cost the authority sh337m by June 30, 2025.
Other concerns cited include the alleged unauthorised recruitment of six excess staff between February and March 2024, resulting in an unbudgeted and unapproved financial burden of sh647m on the authority.
In an affidavit, former IRA board chairperson Dr Isaac Nabeta Nkote stated that Kaddunabbi’s contract naturally and legally expired through effluxion of time on May 31, 2026.
Nkote further claims that the board rejected Kaddunabbi’s reappointment after considering the Auditor General’s report of May 15, 2026, which allegedly identified several administrative and financial shortcomings under his stewardship.