AG Sam Mayanja: No Return to Office while Criminal Prosecution is Ongoing

The Attorney General, Sam Mayanja, has directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government to keep public officers on interdiction if they are still facing criminal prosecution, even where six months have elapsed since the interdiction.

In a legal opinion dated September 25, 2026, Attorney General Sam Mayanja said the six-month period should not be interpreted as automatically ending an officer’s interdiction where the criminal case before court is still ongoing.

The guidance was issued to all Permanent Secretaries, Accounting Officers and Chief Administrative Officers under the subject “Guidance Regarding the Status of a Public Officer/Civil Servant on Interdiction Still Undergoing Prosecution After the Expiry of Six Months.”

Mayanja cited Regulation 38 of the Public Service Commission Regulations, 2009, which provides for the interdiction of a public officer where public interest requires it or where disciplinary or criminal proceedings have been instituted.

According to the Attorney General, where criminal prosecution is still continuing, the affected public officer remains under interdiction until the criminal proceedings are concluded and result in an acquittal.

The opinion further states that no public officer should be allowed to regain or resume their position, or have the interdiction lifted, while the criminal prosecution remains unresolved.

“This opinion binds all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government,” the Attorney General states.

The guidance comes against the backdrop of concerns surrounding public officers who, after spending more than six months on interdiction, have reportedly sought to resume access to their offices or presented the expiry of the six-month period as evidence that criminal investigations or cases against them had been dropped.

Uganda’s public service regulations require cases involving police and courts to be handled expeditiously. Courts have previously noted that investigations involving police or courts should ordinarily be concluded within six months.

However, previous court decisions have also recognised that interdiction is connected to criminal or disciplinary proceedings and is intended to prevent an officer from exercising the functions of office while such proceedings are ongoing.

The latest Attorney General’s guidance draws a distinction between the period within which investigations should be expedited and the status of an officer whose criminal prosecution has already commenced but has not been concluded.

The document does not identify particular suspects or criminal cases. It instead provides general guidance to government institutions on how to handle public officers whose criminal proceedings remain pending after six months.

The position means that the mere passage of six months does not, according to the Attorney General’s legal opinion, constitute automatic reinstatement or clearance of a public officer facing an ongoing criminal prosecution.

adamkungu@plus-news.local facebooktwitterinstagram Kungu Al-Mahadi Adam is an experienced Ugandan multimedia Journalist, passionate about current African affairs particularly Horn of Africa. He is currently an Editor and writer with Plus News Uganda and… More by Kungu Al-Mahadi Adam

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