SACCO WAR ERUPTS! Kampala Lawyer Battles Compulsory ODPP Membership

A Kampala-based Lawyer has petitioned the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), demanding the immediate withdrawal of a directive requiring staff to join the institution’s Savings and Credit Cooperative Society (SACCO).

In his letter addressed to the Director of Public Prosecutions and copied to the Attorney General, Lawyer Steven Kalali contends that the mandatory recruitment of prosecutors and support staff into the ODPP Staff SACCO is unconstitutional because membership in any association must be voluntary.

The complaint follows an internal memo dated June 23, 2026, in which the DPP Lino Anguzu communicated a management decision directing all staff to join the staff SACCO as part of efforts to promote a savings culture and improve employees’ financial well-being.

According to the memo, staff contributions will be deducted beginning in July 2026, with monthly contributions varying according to rank.

Senior Prosecutors will contribute up to 500,000 shillings per month, while officers in lower salary scales like drivers would contribute between 50,000 and 200,000.

According to the Memo, the DPP himself, Lino Anguzu, is to contribute one million shillings, the Permanent Secretary 600,000 shillings, while the rest of the staff, both technical and lawyers in that office, pay between fifty thousand and five hundred thousand shillings.

“To promote savings, ODPP Top Management has taken a decision recommending all staff to mandatorily join the SACCO and the following rates/contributions will accordingly apply,”. reads the memo. The Human Resource Office was directed to coordinate with the Accounts Section to effect deductions from allowances of non-legal staff, while prosecutors would remit their contributions directly to the SACCO.

The memo states that the SACCO was established to encourage savings, provide members with affordable loans at lower interest rates than commercial banks, and enable members to earn dividends through share ownership.

It further indicates that accounts had already been opened for all prosecutors and non-prosecutor staff.

However, Kalali argues that although establishing a staff SACCO is a commendable initiative, compelling employees to become members infringes Article 29(1)(e) of the Constitution, which guarantees every Ugandan the freedom to join or decline to join an association.

He maintains that freedom of association includes the freedom not to associate and that mandatory enrollment deprives employees of the right to make an independent choice regarding membership.

The lawyer cites several judicial decisions to support his position. Among them is the European Court of Human Rights decision in Chassagnou and Others versus France, which held that compelling individuals to join an association against their wishes violates the right to freedom of association.

He also refers to another case in Europe where the European Court ruled that freedom of association includes the right not to be compelled into membership of an association or trade union.

Kalali further relies on Article 22(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 10(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, both of which prohibit compelling individuals to join associations.

The advocate also cites his recent own case against the Attorney General and Exodus Co-operative Savings and Credit Society Ltd (Police SACCO), Miscellaneous Cause No. 28 of 2025.

According to the complaint, the Civil Division Judge Isaac Bonny Teko, on July 15th 2026, in that case, found that mandatory membership in a SACCO violated the constitutional guarantee of freedom of association and held that such membership must remain voluntary.

The court further directed the Registrar of Co-operatives to audit Exodus SACCO’s membership records and accounts relating to police officers recruited from the 2015 intake onwards and submit a report to the High Court within nine months.

The Attorney General was also ordered to issue guidance to the Uganda Police Force and Exodus SACCO to ensure that no police officer is enrolled into the cooperative or subjected to salary deductions without documented, free and informed consent. Costs of the application were awarded to Kalali.

Now to avoid such orders against the state, Kalali argues that mandatory monthly deductions could offend Article 158(1) of the Constitution, which protects public servants from alterations to their salary or allowances to their disadvantage.

He has asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to immediately suspend or withdraw the June 23 memo before salary deductions commence, warning that implementation of the directive could expose the institution to legal action.

“The only lawful approach,” the lawyer argues, “is to allow staff who wish to join the SACCO to do so voluntarily after adequate consultation and engagement.”

He further states that public authorities have a constitutional obligation under Article 20(2) to respect, uphold and protect fundamental rights and freedoms.

The June 23 internal memo, signed by DPP Lino Anguzu, presents the mandatory enrollment as a management decision intended to strengthen the staff SACCO and encourage financial discipline among employees.

The Deputy Spokesperson’s office of the DPP, Irene Nakimbugwe, has confirmed receiving Kalali’s complaint, adding that management will review it and respond accordingly.