The plaintiffs filed applications for judicial review in September 2021 seeking the court to declare null and void Openjuru’s promotion as a Professor and his appointment as Vice Chancellor alleging forgery of academic documents.
![]()
Gulu University Vice Chancellor Prof. George Openjuru Ladaah
The High Court in Gulu has
dismissed a lawsuit challenging the appointment
of the institution’s Vice Chancellor Prof. George Ladaah Openjuru.
Three University staff filed applications
for judicial review in September 2021 seeking the court to declare null and
void Openjuru’s promotion as a Professor and his appointment as Vice Chancellor
alleging forgery of academic documents.
They demanded that the court issues an
order restraining Prof. George Openjuru Ladaah from further using the title of
Professor and to refund all the money he received from the University as a
Professor and Vice-Chancellor.
The complainants, Henry James
Obol, an Assistant Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine, Andrew Ayella, a System
Analyst, and Godfrey Epolu, an Assistant Internal Auditor also filed another
suit in July 2022 challenging Openjuru’s reappointment by the University
Council.
Prof. Openjuru was appointed Gulu
University Vice Chancellor in 2018 and later got a five-year contract extension
in August 2022.
Justice George Okello, the
Resident Judge, Gulu High Court however in a ruling on Friday dismissed the suit on grounds that the cases lacked merit.
Justice Okello noted that the
applicants failed to prove the grounds for the applications in their respective
affidavits arguing that the subsequent suit was a total abuse of court as it
was brought in bad faith and also time-barred.
The judge consequently ordered
the applicants to pay the cost of the suit to the professor.
Moses Omara, the University Acting Legal
Officer told Uganda Radio Network in an interview over the weekend that the
University has always been operating in line with the policies and all the
relevant laws of the country.
"The suit was just an abuse
of the court process as it lacked directions and focus. I employ all the staff
of the University to always exhibit and to uphold the spirit of Ubuntu for the
betterment of the University and for the Community Transformation because
personal differences shouldn't be brought into the public office,” Says Omara.
Prof. Openjuru however says he feels
happy that the process has been validated adding that it will be a lesson for the
lecturers to understand how a Vice-Chancellor is appointed into office.
He notes that it was a disgrace
for the lecturers to accuse of him of forging academic papers from Makerere
University where he studied and was employed for more than 20 years.
Prof. Openjuru replaced the first
Gulu University Vice Chancellor Prof Jack Nyeko Pen-Mogi in 2018.
Bureau Chief, West Acholi
