This week, some lawyers, who are members of the Uganda Law Society (ULS) hit the headlines, protesting the manner in which the executive of ULS, went ahead to form the International Centre for Arbitration & Mediation in Kampala (ICAMEK)
The founders of ICAMEK describe it as a private sector led institution that focuses on delivering the benefits of world-class Alternative Dispute Resolution to businesses, professionals, governments and communities alike.
ICAMEK is a brainchild of the Uganda Law Society and the Uganda Bankers’ Association. The initiative is also said to be supported by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), Uganda Communications Commission, Uganda Breweries Limited and Uganda Revenue Authority, among others.
Mr Nelson Walusimbi, himself a lawyer and one of the complainants, says that both the involvement of ULS in ICAMEK and the appointment of its directors, was never authorised by the members as should be the norm.
Some of ICAMEK’s directors are John Fisher Kanyemibwa and former ULS President Francis Gimara, while law firm, MMKAS Advocates are said to be the company secretary.
While the need for an arbitration entity is so obvious, this need should not supersede a much greater need for transparency and good corporate governance.
Specifically, Mr Walusimbi’s complaint comes at a time when the legal industry is said to bedevilled by a cancer called conflict of interest- especially where the big law firms and the respective lawyers therein are proverbially embedded in every little thing that there is and have severally breached the advocates code on conflict of interest.
The small firms can only but, watch on as the scramble and partition of big ticket deals, pits one big law firm against others.
For example, it is common knowledge that there is a big law firm in town that is owned by one of the ministers, that is representing or has represented an international oil & gas firm in a matter where that minister represents government on one side. There is also another law firm, associated with a son of a former Permanent Secretary in one of the powerful ministries that has represented several international companies in matters where that Permanent Secretary represented government.
All this happened in broad day light!
Neutrality is the pillar of arbitration
Central to every successful and credible arbitration process is the principle of neutrality and therefore it becomes a matter of concern when a law firm (MMAKS Advocates) that is too close for comfort with the banking industry is said to be ICAMEK’s company secretary, especially when the process that led to that decision is not fully understood and blessed by the majority ULS members as Walusimbi claims.
Just to demonstrate my point- MMAKS Advocates are the external lawyers for Bank of Uganda. Three of their partners- Timothy K. Masembe, Apollo N. Makubuya and Moses J. Adriko either sit on or chair the boards of NC Bank, Equity Bank and Standard Chartered Bank respectively.
The law firm has also acted for several banks in various litigation matters. So, at what point does the law firm separate its private interests from those of its clients- the banks and then marry that with the public interests of the borrowing public as well as ULS?
I have also had a chance to examine the ICAMEK (Arbitration) Rules 2018 that went into effect on 1st November, 2018 and they do not seem to decisively address the issue of conflict of interest.
These are major issues that cannot just be hushed away- but must be discussed publicly in the open for all stakeholders to voice their inputs such that the real good intentions of ICAMEK, are not mired in the personal interests of the lawyers.
Now is the time or never.
Mr Walusimbi must be listened too!