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He had demanded for information on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between a Russian car tracking company and the government.
Mengo Court Chief Magistrate Patrick Talisuna Ngereza passed his ruling last Friday. He held that by denying lawyer Mabirizi the information he sought, they were liable and had to compensate him.
“In regard to the issue that is fishing expedition by the applicant, this contradicts Section 6 of the Access to Information Act. It is thus my view and holding that the applicant’s rights to access to information under Article 41 (1) of the constitution and section 5(1) and 16 of the Access to Information Act were violated by the respondents and they are liable,” he ruled.
He further added, “Having found in issue 1 that the respondent violated the rights of the applicant and they are liable, the applicant is entitled to damages. I would thus grant the applicant General damages for inconvenience of Shs5m on costs.”
Additionally, he said the general rule is that costs follow the event and a successful party should not be deprived of them except for good cause.
Mabirizi’s request sought declarations that the Permanent Secretary at Works Ministry illegally refused his requests to access some information.
Mabirizi wanted to see all procurement correspondences, decisions and the MoU with Joint Stock company and Global Security.
The companies had struck a deal with the government to install tracking devices. This is in all public and private vehicles and motorcycles.
Mr. Mabirizi had contended that on July 23, 2021, he had requested for information about the MoU between the government and the Russian company.
In their defense, the Attorney General claimed they had replied to Mr. Mabirizi’s request. However, they claimed that at the time, he was absent at his address.
The Attorney General also claimed that Mabirizi sought the information from the wrong source. This is because the permanent secretary did not have it.
When contacted yesterday, he said he did this to teach public officers a lesson and not for the money reward.
“This greatest benefit does not lie in the pecuniary value but rather in the lesson taught to public officers who conceal public information in total disregard of the Access to Information Act, 2005, most times not even bothering to respond,” Mabirizi said.
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