Uganda Law Society President Senior Counsel Isaac Ssemakadde.The High Court in Kampala has ordered the Government to produce in court for inspection a set of key documents relating to the implementation of the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS), a project being carried out by the Russian firm Joint Stock Company Global Security.On Friday, Civil Division Judge Boniface Wamala issued the directive following a successful application by Legal Brains Trust, a non-profit organisation whose Executive Director, Senior Counsel Isaac Ssemakadde, was represented by Advocate Stanley Okecho.In 2021, the organisation sued the government/ Attorney General under Miscellaneous Cause No. 225 of 2021, seeking disclosure of information and records associated with the project.The court has specifically ordered the Government to produce, within sixty days, the memorandum of understanding and agreement signed with the Russian company, the financial model for the project, the due diligence report, and the technical and financial assessment report.These documents were referenced in an affidavit in reply by Haji Yunus Kakande, the Secretary in the Office of the President.Legal Brains Trust had asked the court to compel the Government to not only produce the said documents but also allow its lawyers to inspect and make copies of them. These include the memorandum of understanding executed between Uganda and Joint Stock Company Global Security for a feasibility study of the ITMS project, as well as the main agreement for the provision of a digital monitoring and tracking system for all motor vehicles and motorcycles in Uganda through a real-time control and monitoring centre.They also requested access to the project’s financial model, the due diligence report, and the technical and financial capacity assessment reports mentioned in the government’s affidavit.In addition to the documents, Legal Brains Trust sought further and better particulars about the ITMS project, including its standard operating procedures, the structure of the officers overseeing it, and the checks and balances in place.The group also demanded details of the alleged rise in crimes committed by motorcycle riders, which the Government cited as justification for implementing the system. They further asked for the records through which the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, allegedly expressed concerns that led to the project’s initiation, as well as particulars about the technical committee involved in assessing the initiative, its composition, mandate, activities, meeting minutes, budgets, and accountability mechanisms.Stanley Okecho also sought the feasibility study report and details of the due diligence process, including its methodology, funding, findings, and approvals.The application was supported by an affidavit from Lynette Akankwatsa, a lawyer and case officer with Legal Brains Trust. She stated that the Government had failed to respond to prior requests to produce the documents, despite their relevance to the case and the fact that such materials are within the Government’s custody and are legally required for any foreign company seeking to collect and process personal data in Uganda.She also argued that disclosing the documents would facilitate the fair and expeditious resolution of the main suit, allow for meaningful pre-trial concessions, or potentially enable an out-of-court settlement.In its defence, the Government however, through an affidavit sworn by Haji Yunus Kakande, opposed the application.Kakande stated that the Government had already responded to the request for particulars on 25th August 2021, and that the application amounted to a “fishing expedition.”Hajji Kakande maintained that the requested documents were confidential, and that disclosing them would infringe on the privacy rights of the foreign investors and potentially threaten national security.However, in his ruling, Justice Wamala has held that the claims of confidentiality and national security could not be verified or reasonably evaluated without examining the documents in question.He found that no specific evidence had been presented to show how the production of the documents would endanger the state or violate investor rights.He emphasised that the court retains the power to order production of documents for inspection even where privilege or confidentiality is claimed, provided the production is necessary for the fair disposal of the matter or to save costs.Quoting Order 10 Rule 14 and Rule 19(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules, the judge noted that the court is permitted to inspect documents to determine the validity of claims of privilege and can restrict publication or access to sensitive information where necessary. He explained that the documents can be produced in a controlled and guarded manner, strictly for inspection and use in court, with no unauthorised publication allowed unless otherwise permitted by the court.Justice Wamala ruled that the application had merit and allowed it in part.He ordered that the Government must produce the documents in question within sixty days for inspection by the court. The production is to be solely for court use, and no publication or disclosure of the contents may be made by either party unless the court specifically allows it after determining the confidentiality or privilege claims. He also ruled that the costs of the application would be determined as part of the main proceedings.Commenting about the Court decision, Ssemakadde’s lawyer Stanley Okecho said, “This is a positive step. The Court is upholding transparency as a tenet for a functioning democracy. We expect them to appeal, we are ready to sweep out secrecy in matters touching the public purse”.Ssemakadde, who is in forced exile, indicated that “What marvelous news after an epic 4-year battle over these documents! What a lifeline for the Rule of Law! I am so Grateful to my Lawyers for this Milestone in anti-corruption Advocacy”The ITMS project, first announced in 2021, aims to digitally track and monitor all vehicles and motorcycles in Uganda in real time.The Government cited rising urban crime and the need for better traffic and security management as the rationale for the project, especially after the murder of top government officials, in which updates remain unresolved, many years later.On June 29th 2021, the Minister in charge of Security, Major General Jim Muhwezi, addressed the nation and said that the Cabinet had the day before, approved the move to have all vehicles and motorcycles fitted with security tracking devices for them to be able to know where any motor vehicle is at any particular time.The proposal was first made by President Yoweri Museveni in 2018 as he talked about his ten-point security master plan to combat rising urban criminality. This was after several murders of Muslim clerics, security and political officials.But according to Minister Muhwezi, the devices shall require every motorist and motorcyclist to have electronic number plates with an electronic signaler in them, to be installed at the cost of every owner.This 10-year project is to be handled by a Russian company called Global Systems LLC, which will take 70 percent of the money from penalties in the first two years, with the government pocketing 30 percent. In the fourth year, the two parties will share the revenue on 50 percent basis each, and then the government will take 70 percent from the sixth year onwards while the contractor settles for 30 percent.In 2021, lawyer Male Mabirizi sought the same documents that the Court had ordered the Government to bring in 60 days, but was denied permission.As a result, Mabirizi sued the government in the Mengo Chief Magistrates Court. Mabirizi was awarded 5 million shillings by the Court for violation of his right to access to information by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Works and Transport.-URNThe post Court Orders Gov’t to Produce Key Documents on Vehicle Tracking Project appeared first on Business Focus.