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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2004 |
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Suspension lawful but summary dismissal unlawful where employer relied on hearsay; employee awarded notice pay, benefits, costs and interest.
Employment law – suspension pending investigation lawful; summary dismissal – requires proof of very serious breach (dishonesty/fraud) – hearsay and private investigator reports insufficient – appellate reappraisal of evidence – entitlement to notice or payment in lieu, benefits, costs and interest.
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20 December 2004 |
| November 2004 |
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Pre-commencement termination with adequate notice was lawful; no breach or compensable loss, award set aside.
Employment law – fixed-term contract with probation – notice to terminate under section 24(1) Employment Act and common law – lawful termination v repudiation – mitigation of damages where no wrongful dismissal – measure and foreseeability of damages for pre-commencement termination.
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26 November 2004 |
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Removal of caveats and selling land without satisfying prior interests constitutes fraud.
Land Law – Caveats – Removal – Bona fide purchaser – Fraud in transfer and registration of land titles.
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26 November 2004 |
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Court held that service on one partner is effective for the partnership, and upheld a consent judgment entered against it.
Civil procedure – partnership – service of process – authority of partner to bind partnership – ostensible authority – summary suit – consent judgment – jurisdiction of registrar – pleading and proof of fraud – illegality not properly pleaded.
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3 November 2004 |
| October 2004 |
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Whether vendor showed and then breached obligation to transfer sold plot; appellate court found breach and upheld purchaser’s evidence.
* Contract / Specific performance – sale of land – vendor’s obligation to demarcate and transfer after payment – buyer’s act of possession and construction as evidence of delivery of plot where no formal surveyor demarcation occurred. * Civil procedure – locus in quo evidence – calling and recording of locus witnesses; weight and admissibility of locus evidence. * Appeal – appellate re-evaluation of factual findings where evidence unchallenged at trial; effect of trial judge’s clerical slip in judgment.
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28 October 2004 |
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Appeal allowed in part: manufacturer liable for contaminated drink; appellant awarded Shs.15,000,000/= for proven injuries.
Product liability; negligence of manufacturer; proof that defect existed when product left factory; no automatic presumption of negligence; res ipsa loquitur not automatically applicable; medical causation for alleged permanent injury; assessment of general damages for pain and suffering.
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8 October 2004 |
| September 2004 |
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Whether statutory pre‑shipment inspection duties and inspector liability extend to affiliates and whether buyer’s acceptance bars recovery.
* Statutory pre‑shipment inspection – S.I. No.90/82 – mandatory Clean Report of Findings and appointment of Societe Generale de Surveillance S.A. as Inspecting Authority, including subsidiaries and agents. * Inspecting authority obligations – duty to inspect, issue CRF/Non‑negotiable Report; importer/seller duties under regulation 4. * Proof of special damages – strict pleading and proof required; documentary corroboration from commercial records ordinarily necessary. * Buyer’s acceptance and mitigation – buyer who accepts defective goods (and negotiates allowance) may be estopped from suing inspectors for consequential losses. * Damages in contract – remoteness and foreseeability principles (Hadley v Baxendale) govern general damages.
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1 September 2004 |
| August 2004 |
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Shareholders may bring derivative suits when alleged wrongdoers control the company; misjoinder is a non-fatal procedural defect.
Company law – Derivative action – Shareholder’s right to sue where wrongdoer controls the company – Receiver as alleged wrongdoer – Joinder and designation of company parties – Misjoinder/non-joinder under Order 1 r.9 CPR – Procedural technicalities not fatal.
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25 August 2004 |
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Appeal dismissed: medical reports admissible by consent, res ipsa loquitur applied, credibility findings and damages award affirmed.
Negligence and vicarious liability; admissibility of medical reports by consent; res ipsa loquitur shifting burden of proof; evaluation of witness credibility; proof of special damages where receipts are missing; defence of inevitable accident.
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24 August 2004 |
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Respondent’s prolonged failure to prosecute appeal amounted to abuse of process; notice of appeal struck out with costs.
Civil procedure – Appeal – Strike out of notice of appeal – Failure to take essential step (filing memorandum within 60 days) – Duty of appellant to pursue record – Inherent power to prevent abuse of process (Rule 1(3)) – Delay and dormancy as ground for striking out.
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23 August 2004 |
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Family Law|Matrimonial Property Law
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16 August 2004 |
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Whether a widow can occupy a deceased's residential holding despite title and documents standing in another's name, and whether judgment on admissions was properly entered.
Succession Act – residential holdings and occupation rights under s.26 and Second Schedule; Civil Procedure – Order 11 r.6 judgment on admissions; administrators' powers where co-administrators give no directions; equitable/occupational interest despite title in third party.
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16 August 2004 |
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The respondent’s withdrawn preliminary objection, raised without due diligence, entitled the applicant to costs for the wasted court day.
Civil procedure — leave to appeal — requirement for prior High Court application or notice — preliminary objection — withdrawal upon discovery of error — costs awarded for wasted court time due to counsel's lack of diligence.
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4 August 2004 |
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Criminal law
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2 August 2004 |
| July 2004 |
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The High Court retains original jurisdiction over disputes involving seizure of goods by tax authorities, notwithstanding the Tax Appeals Tribunal Act.
Civil procedure – Jurisdiction – High Court original jurisdiction – Tax disputes – Tax Appeals Tribunal Act – Whether High Court jurisdiction can be ousted by statute – Seizure of goods by revenue authority.
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30 July 2004 |
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Insurer’s repudiation rejected: verbal consent, necessity of repairs amid DRC insecurity, and insurable interest upheld; appeal dismissed.
Insurance law – liability of insurer for post-accident repairs; consent to repairs – verbal authority and ostensible authority of insurer’s agent; Conditions precedent – necessity exception for immediate safety and prevention of further damage; Emergency repair expenses – 10% policy allowance affects quantum, not necessarily forfeiture; Insurable interest – must be pleaded; judicial notice – hostilities/insecurity in foreign jurisdiction (DRC) admissible where notorious and unchallenged.
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30 July 2004 |
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The court held that procedural omissions by qualified advocates are curable and do not warrant dismissal of proceedings.
Civil procedure – court documents – compliance with endorsement requirements – Advocates Act sections 65, 66, and 67 – technical defects versus substantive justice – curable irregularities – application of Article 126(2)(e) of the Constitution.
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30 July 2004 |
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Unexplained, substantial procedural delay in lodging appeal and record renders the appeal incompetent; appeal struck out.
Civil procedure – appeals – non-compliance with appellate timetables (Rule 75(2), Rule 87(1)) – incompetence of appeal – preliminary objection – delays must be satisfactorily explained (Utex Industries Ltd v Attorney General).
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29 July 2004 |
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Constitutional Law|Constitutional Interpretation|Constitutional Supremacy
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29 July 2004 |
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A taxing officer must give reasons when denying costs; successful parties are entitled to costs absent good reason.
* Civil Procedure Act, s.27 – Costs – judicial discretion to award costs must be exercised on good grounds; costs generally follow the event.
* Taxation – Taxing Officer struck out a bill of costs but made no order as to costs – absence of reasons invalidates denial of costs.
* Procedural fairness – failure to state reasons for depriving successful party of costs amounts to error and miscarriage of justice.
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21 July 2004 |
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The appellants' qualified privilege succeeded for verified publication of a public-interest letter; appeal allowed and judgment set aside.
* Defamation – qualified privilege – republication of a verified letter alleging public-sector corruption – when public interest and reciprocal duty justify privilege.
* Press freedom – corroboration and verification of source – author confirmation and failure to object relevant to absence of malice.
* Press and Journalist Act – source protection – context where source voluntarily confirmed authorship.
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21 July 2004 |
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Qualified privilege protects publication of a verified public-interest letter absent proven malice; appeal allowed.
Defamation — qualified privilege — reproduction of letter from public official alleging corruption — verification of source and absence of editorial inference — malice negates privilege only if proved; Press and Journalist Act (s.38) and protection of sources; public interest and moral/social duty to publish.
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21 July 2004 |
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Qualified privilege applies where journalists reproducibly publish a verified public-interest letter absent malice; appeal allowed.
Defamation — qualified privilege — publication of verified letter alleging corruption; absence of malice; moral and social duty of press to publish matters of public interest; protection of journalistic sources (Press and Journalist Act s.38); verification and author’s tacit consent relevant to privilege.
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21 July 2004 |
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Appellate court upheld kidnapping conviction and 20-year sentence, finding identification, corroboration and alibi assessment properly evaluated.
Criminal law – Kidnapping with intent to murder; identification evidence – single witness caution and corroboration; Evidence Act s.155 – use of contemporaneous statements; alibi – evaluation of competing versions; appellate review of sentence under Trial on Indictment Act s.139(1).
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20 July 2004 |
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Court upheld kidnapping conviction, finding identification reliable, alibi unreliable, and sentence not excessive.
* Criminal law – kidnapping with intent to murder – identification by single witness – credibility and corroboration; * Evidence – former/fresh statements and corroboration; * Defence of alibi – evaluation, burden and judicial comparison of competing versions; * Sentence review – interference only if illegal or manifestly excessive.
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19 July 2004 |
| June 2004 |
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Registrar violated natural justice and wrongly allowed likely-confusing trademark "Rantac" against established "Zantac".
Trade marks – likelihood of confusion – near-identical marks for same pharmaceutical goods – improper exercise of registrar’s discretion under s.15(2) – procedural fairness (audi alteram partem) – foreign decisions persuasive only, not binding.
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22 June 2004 |
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Intellectual Property Law|Trademark Infringement
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22 June 2004 |
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Civil Procedure|Actions and applications
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22 June 2004 |
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Criminal law|Evidence Law|Evaluation of Evidence
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10 June 2004 |
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Convictions quashed where identification was unsafe and extra-judicial statements and discovery evidence were improperly admitted.
* Criminal law – identification evidence – reliability of single identifying witness awoken at night; need for caution and corroboration.
* Evidence – extra-judicial/confessional statements – requirement for trial-within-a-trial or ascertainment of voluntariness before admission.
* Evidence Act s.29 – proof of discovery – accused must be shown to have distinctly pointed out facts leading to recovery of property.
* Criminal procedure – convictions based on suspicion and improperly admitted evidence are unsafe; appellate re-evaluation in capital cases.
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9 June 2004 |
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Appellant failed to prove an oral contract or trade usage; admission of receipt was not an unequivocal basis for judgment.
Contract — oral/partly oral contracts (Sale of Goods Act s.4(1)) — requirements for a concluded bargain; Pleading — Order 7 r.1(e) particulars of cause of action; Trade usage/custom — proof standards and incorporation into contract; Evidence — s.47 (opinion of persons with special knowledge) relevant to usages; Admissions — admission in pleadings must be unequivocal to found judgment under Order 11 r.6; Damages — assessment practice and appellate guidance.
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2 June 2004 |
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Trial court erred in relying on oral NPART-debt evidence to rescind a written land-sale contract; appeal allowed.
* Contract law – sale of land – written agreement – parol evidence rule; sections 91 and 92 Evidence Act – oral evidence inadmissible to contradict or vary written sale agreement.
* Evidence – unpleaded/unproved oral agreement regarding third-party creditor (NPART) – inadmissible to justify rescission.
* Remedies – attempted rescission of written land-sale contract improperly founded on extraneous evidence; appellate relief granted to purchaser.
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1 June 2004 |
| May 2004 |
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Civil Procedure|Actions and applications
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25 May 2004 |
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A party aggrieved by a decision in objector proceedings must file a suit, not an appeal, to establish their right.
Civil procedure – Objector proceedings – Order 19 rule 60 Civil Procedure Rules – Whether appeal lies as of right from decision in objector proceedings – Proper remedy by filing suit to establish right to property – Conclusiveness of order in absence of such suit.
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6 May 2004 |
| April 2004 |
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Consent decrees and failure to take essential appellate steps render appeals incompetent and subject to striking out.
Civil procedure – appeals – consent judgment – section 69(2) Civil Procedure Act bars appeals from consent decrees; Civil procedure – appeals – mandatory compliance with Court of Appeal Rules: service of Notice of Appeal within seven days (Rule 77) and filing Record and Memorandum within 60 days (Rule 82) are essential steps; failure renders appeal incompetent; counsel’s consent in open court binds client when duly instructed.
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30 April 2004 |
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Mere mention of other wives does not prove customary marriage; no mistrial—appeal dismissed with costs.
* Family law – Divorce – proof of customary marriage – mere mention of 'wives' in evidence not sufficient to establish customary marriages; evidence of ceremonies/registration required under Customary Marriage (Registration) Act (ss.6,11,20). * Civil procedure – fair hearing – unrepresented litigant’s duties and limits on court’s proactive role; retrial discretion governed by principles in Fatehali Manji.
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30 April 2004 |
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The respondent’s failure to file the record and memorandum within the prescribed time rendered the appeal incompetent and struck out.
Appeal procedure — mandatory filing of Record and Memorandum of Appeal within 60 days — failure to take essential step renders appeal incompetent — striking out appeal and costs.
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30 April 2004 |
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A ten-year delay in prosecuting a claim justified dismissal of the suit for want of prosecution under the court's discretion.
Civil procedure – Want of prosecution – Discretion to dismiss suit – Effect of inordinate delay – Court’s discretion under Order 15 Rule 6 Civil Procedure Rules – Grounds for appellate interference with dismissal for want of prosecution.
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28 April 2004 |
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Insurer’s conduct can waive a contractual 12-month time bar; possession gives insurable interest; quantum reduced to UGX 42,600,000.
Insurance law – time-bar/limitation clause – waiver by insurer’s conduct and meaning of "pending action"; Insurable interest – possession suffices; Utmost good faith – burden on insurer to prove material misrepresentation; Quantum – assessment of partial damage and indemnity calculation; Interest – commercial rate upheld (18% from 14 Jan 1999).
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28 April 2004 |
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Whether a bank was negligent in opening an account and disbursing a government compensation cheque to purported beneficiaries.
Banking law – negligence – verification of identity when collecting large government compensation cheque; evidential burden and proof of title; application of s.81(1) Bills of Exchange Act; inseparability of account opening and cheque payment.
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21 April 2004 |
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claimant must prove pre-accident market value of destroyed goods; purchase price alone is insufficient.
Tort – negligence – measure of damages for destruction of goods: market value at time and place of destruction; claimant must prove pre-accident market value. Evidence – special damages: strict proof required; oral evidence insufficient for large monetary claims without receipts. Evidence – customs declaration admissible and can be relied upon as impartial evidence of value. Civil appeals – appellate court will not interfere with trial judge’s discretionary award of general damages absent misdirection.
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21 April 2004 |
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Civil Remedies|Damages
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20 April 2004 |
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Civil Procedure|Errors and rectifications
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5 April 2004 |
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Civil Procedure|Actions and applications
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3 April 2004 |
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Failure to prove causation and malice beyond reasonable doubt: conviction reduced to assault; sentence reduced for remand.
Criminal law – Murder vs manslaughter – Causation and malice aforethought – Common intention (s.20 Penal Code Act) – Circumstantial evidence must exclude reasonable hypotheses of innocence – Assault occasioning actual bodily harm – Credit for time on remand.
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2 April 2004 |
| March 2004 |
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A judge cannot review a deputy registrar’s consent judgment; it may only be set aside under appropriate rules or inherent powers.
Civil procedure — Consent judgment — Whether judge may review a consent judgment entered by a deputy registrar — Order 46 r.2; setting aside consent judgments under Order 9 r.9 or inherent powers (s.99) — Section 82 review requires an "aggrieved" person — Grounds to set aside: fraud, collusion, mistake, ignorance of material facts — Advocate professional conduct (reg.8) and appearance after swearing affidavit.
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30 March 2004 |
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Civil Procedure|Actions and applications
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22 March 2004 |
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Failure to effect mandatory statutory notice on a local government authority renders the suit incompetent; appeal allowed with costs.
Local government claims – mandatory statutory notice – service on Town Clerk/Assistant Town Clerk per rule 26 (Third Schedule, Local Government Act) – mode of service (personal delivery or registered post) – absence of effective service renders suit incompetent – evidential sufficiency of delivery book and witness testimony.
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18 March 2004 |
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Extension of time to appeal dismissed for failure to show sufficient reason, merits, and compliance with Rule 41(1).
Extension of time – application must generally be made first in High Court (Rule 41(1)) – sufficient reason for delay required (Rule 4) – prospects of success/merits relevant though not strictly mandatory – separate legal personality of company – delay and dilatory tactics.
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3 March 2004 |
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Extension of time refused where applicants failed to apply to the High Court first, prove delay, or show appeal prospects.
Extension of time – Requirement to apply to High Court first (Rule 41(1)) – "Sufficient reason" for delay – Need for evidence substantiating absence abroad – Prospects of success not shown – Separate legal personality of company.
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3 March 2004 |
