The High Court Civil Division Judge Esta Nambayo has stepped down from hearing the case seeking to subject State Minister for Lands Hon Sam Mayanja to an involuntary Mental Examination.
The case filed by Herbalist David Ssenfuka against the Executive Director Butabika National Mental Referral Hospital had today come up for hearing before her. However, Nambayo informed Ssenfuka through his lawyers that she is ordering that the file be sent back to the Registry for reallocation because she is not comfortable handling it.
In February 2024, Ssenfuka petitioned Court seeking an immediate order directing the Executive Director of Butabika to conduct a mental examination on Minister Mayanja so as to rule out possible mental illnesses or . He based his application on the general conduct of the Minister on different places where he has visited where they had land wrangles and the decisions he made on ground such as ordering for the arrest of some people at the scene and saying he is disbanding police and causing for their immediate firing from job among others.
As such, Ssenfuka told court that he is concerned that Mayanja is most likely suffering from a cognitive disorder disease and thus asked for involuntary examination admission and treatment in line with Mental Health Act of 2018
He noted that Butabika Hospital is seized with the legal duty to act up on a tip off by any concerned person to cause an involuntary Examination, admission and treatment of a person suspected of a mental illness and he has no any other alternative way of doing it
He says that he tried approaching Mayanja’s relatives so as to prove his mental stability but they allegedly declined to cooperate with him.
“That owing to the Hon Sam Mayanja’s relatives empathized apprehension to have their kin voluntarily examined for a mental condition, I was moved to petition for the involuntary examination and if necessary, the admission and treatment of the Hon Sam Mayanja, before the Executive Director of Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital, whose mental health unit is obliged to cause an involuntary Examination of a subject suspected of a mental illness”, reads the petition.
He told Court that after a reasonable passage of time without any notification from the respondents as to whether any step had been taken to invite Mayanja for the involuntary examination, he wrote a second letter to consider his concerns without neglect
However, Ssenfuka argues that there was no indication that Butabika had taken action to examine the minister.
