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By Spy Uganda
The High Court has ruled that the compulsory enrolment of Uganda Police officers into Exodus SACCO without their consent is unconstitutional, ordering the cooperative to allow affected officers to withdraw without penalty and to regularise its operations within six months.
In a landmark judgment delivered on July 15, 2026, Justice Bonny Isaac Teko held that police officers enjoy the same constitutional right to freedom of association as every other Ugandan and cannot be forced to join a savings and credit cooperative or have money deducted from their salaries without their free, informed and documented consent.
The ruling arose from Miscellaneous Cause No. 028 of 2025, filed by human rights lawyer Steven Kalali against the Attorney General and Exodus Co-operative Savings and Credit Society Ltd on behalf of serving police officer Isabirye Eliphaz. The application challenged the mandatory recruitment of police officers into the SACCO and the automatic monthly deductions made from their salaries.
Court heard that since the 19th intake of police recruits who graduated from Kabalye Police Training School in 2015, newly recruited officers had allegedly been automatically enrolled into Exodus SACCO, with monthly deductions ranging between Shs20,000 and Shs50,000 made directly from their salaries without written consent.
Justice Teko found that Exodus SACCO failed to produce documentary evidence proving that affected officers had voluntarily applied for membership, despite being given an opportunity by the court to do so.
The judge noted that the SACCO’s own by-laws require a formal application for membership, yet no signed application forms were produced for the affected officers.
“The recruitment of police officers into the 2nd Respondent’s membership, as practised and evidenced on this record, without proof of their free and voluntary application, violates their right to freedom of association,” the court ruled.
The court further held that deductions made from the salaries of affected officers without their informed consent were unlawful and amounted to an unconstitutional alteration of their salaries.
Justice Teko found that Exodus SACCO had failed to demonstrate that officers had authorised the deductions, saying inconsistencies in the consent forms produced further weakened the SACCO’s defence.
In another significant finding, the High Court ruled that Exodus SACCO had been operating its financial services business without the licence required under the Tier 4 Microfinance Institutions and Money Lenders Act.
The court rejected arguments that the licensing process was still underway, holding that registration as a cooperative does not exempt the SACCO from complying with financial sector regulations.
Among the orders issued, the court directed Exodus SACCO to regularise the membership of all affected police officers within six months by giving them a documented opportunity to either remain members or withdraw from the cooperative without penalty.
The court also ordered that officers choosing to exit must receive full access to their accumulated savings and accrued dividends.
Additionally, Exodus SACCO was directed to finalise its licence application with the Bank of Uganda within six months or stop accepting new deposits and issuing new loans until properly licensed.
Justice Teko further ordered the Registrar of Co-operatives to conduct an audit of Exodus SACCO’s membership records and accounts relating to officers recruited from the 2015 intake onwards and report back to court within nine months.
The Attorney General was also directed to issue guidance to the Uganda Police Force and Exodus SACCO to ensure that no police officer is recruited into the cooperative or subjected to salary deductions without documented, free and informed consent.
The judgment is being viewed as a significant affirmation of constitutional rights within Uganda’s disciplined forces, reinforcing that police officers retain their freedoms of association and property despite serving in uniform. It also places renewed scrutiny on governance and regulatory compliance within one of the country’s largest savings and credit cooperatives.
, https://www.spyuganda.com/high-court-declares-police-salary-deductions-to-exodus-sacco-unlawful/
