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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2020 |
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Unchallenged newspaper allegations that the applicant abused his office were held defamatory; damages and costs awarded.
Defamation – publication alleging abuse of office – presumption of falsity where publication defamatory – burden shifts to publisher to prove truth – unchallenged evidence in ex parte proceedings – award of general and exemplary damages and costs.
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13 March 2020 |
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Employer vicariously liable for employee’s shooting; plaintiff awarded special, general, exemplary damages, interest and costs.
Vicarious liability — employer liable for employee’s torts committed in course of employment; proof of special damages by receipts; award of general and exemplary damages; interest and costs.
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13 March 2020 |
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Applicant denied a fair hearing; court quashed disciplinary decisions and awarded compensation instead of reinstatement.
Administrative law – Judicial review of employment disciplinary process; right to fair hearing – disclosure of evidence, right to cross‑examine and right of appeal; procedural bias and improper constitution of disciplinary/management committees; remedy – compensation in lieu of reinstatement; interest and costs.
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6 March 2020 |
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5 March 2020 |
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The applicant proved breach of a loan contract; claim timely, awarded repayment with contractual interest, damages and costs.
Contract law – loan repayment: borrower’s dishonoured cheque and breach; Limitation Act – six-year period, accrual from last servicing (2015); Evidence – burden to prove payment/history of payments; Interest – contractual 0.6% per week (simple interest) to judgment; Remedies – decretal sum, general damages UGX 12,000,000, post-judgment interest and costs.
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4 March 2020 |
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2 March 2020 |
| February 2020 |
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Certiorari granted: regulator’s cancellation of exchange licence unlawful for failing public‑interest rationale and fair hearing.
Administrative law — judicial review — ultra vires and procedural impropriety — public interest threshold for regulatory cancellation of approval — legitimate expectation and fair hearing — certiorari to quash regulatory decision.
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28 February 2020 |
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Application dismissed for incurable procedural defects: unsigned/sealed motion, uncommissioned affidavit, and unlawful holding out as counsel.
Civil procedure – Judicial review – Notice of Motion must be signed by Judge or Registrar and sealed; fatal non-compliance renders application incompetent; Oaths Act – affidavit jurat must show commissioning/place/date; uncommissioned affidavit is fatally defective; Advocates Act – unqualified person must not hold himself out as advocate; illegality not to be condoned; judicial restraint in interference with academic administration.
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28 February 2020 |
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A commission agreement monetizing access to a public land fund and demanding 50% commission is illegal and unconscionable.
Contract law – validity of commission agreements – public policy and illegality where agreement monetizes access to a public land fund; unconscionable terms – 50% commission held unreasonable and unenforceable; vitiating factors – no sufficient proof of fraud, duress or intimidation.
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28 February 2020 |
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Failure to particularise fraud and lack of standing rendered suit moot and the plaint was struck off with costs.
Civil procedure – appearance by counsel under Order 3 r1 CPR; Pleading requirements – fraud must be pleaded and particularised where relied upon; Distinction between illegality and fraud; Mootness/overtaken-by-events – ineffective declarations where contract already executed; Locus standi – unnamed/amorphous class cannot sue on behalf of all citizens.
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28 February 2020 |
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Temporary injunction granted to restrain enforcement of alleged loan pending trial on licence and dishonoured‑cheque disputes.
• Interim relief – temporary injunction – prima facie case, irreparable injury, balance of convenience
• Moneylending – requirement for licence and lawfulness of interest charged
• Civil v criminal enforcement – dishonoured/post‑dated cheques and related police action
• Preservation of status quo pending trial
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27 February 2020 |
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Appellate court sets aside malicious-prosecution finding, holding probable cause and unclear termination defeated malice requirement.
Malicious prosecution — elements (institution, probable cause, malice, favourable termination); termination of criminal proceedings — whether amounting to acquittal; landlord–kibanja disputes as providing probable cause; complainant may be sued in malicious prosecution claims.
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24 February 2020 |
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Judicial review cannot substitute statutory electoral remedies; challenges must be timely and exhaustion of electoral processes is required.
Judicial review – electoral matters – competence and exclusivity of statutory electoral complaint mechanisms (Articles 61(1)(f), 64(1), S.15 Electoral Commission Act). Administrative law – exhaustion of remedies – judicial review barred where statutory remedies exist. Limitation – judicial review must be brought promptly and within three months. Statutory interpretation – non-retroactivity of amendments to term limits; existing contracts preserved. Separation of functions – appointment of a judge to an administrative post requires relinquishment of judicial functions, not necessarily title, but challenge subject to time and procedure.
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21 February 2020 |
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An improperly framed, time‑barred challenge to an administrative appointment must be dismissed for failure to follow judicial review procedure.
Judicial review – procedural competence – applications for judicial review must be made promptly and within three months unless extended – laches and abuse of process – improper circumvention of statutory procedure and time limits.
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21 February 2020 |
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A newspaper’s allegations of land grabbing breached a prior injunction and constituted contempt, warranting damages and a fine.
Defamation – publication alleging land grabbing; Permanent injunction – breach by continued publications; Contempt of court – existence of order, awareness and non‑compliance; Remedies – general and exemplary damages and fine with interest and costs.
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14 February 2020 |
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A late leave-to-appeal application is incompetent; inherent power cannot replace statutory extension procedures, and non-parties cannot be targeted.
Civil procedure – leave to appeal – time limit under Rule 40(2) Judicature (Court of Appeal) Rules; extension of time – section 96 CPA; inherent power under section 98 CPA not available where specific remedy exists; competence of parties – non-party cannot be proper respondent to leave to appeal application; effect of filing validation application after an incompetent filing.
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14 February 2020 |
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A parliamentary committee exercising quasi‑judicial powers is reviewable for unfair hearing, bias and separation‑of‑powers breaches.
Parliamentary oversight and judicial review – Parliamentary committee exercising quasi-judicial functions is subject to judicial review. Constitutional rights – right to a fair and impartial hearing; apparent bias where motion movers/seconders participate in inquiry. Separation of powers – impermissible interference with judiciary by summoning tribunal chairman about judicial decisions. Administrative law – irrationality and errors of fact/law can vitiate committee findings. Remedies – certiorari, prohibition and expungement of impugned findings; costs.
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14 February 2020 |
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Registrar’s suspension and investigation without statutory consultation breached Section 52, was irrational and violated natural justice.
Administrative law – Judicial review – Illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety – Registrar’s suspension and inquiry powers under Section 52 Cooperatives Societies Act – duty to consult Board; fair hearing and bias.
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14 February 2020 |
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Parliamentary committee requisition to scrutinize court awards unlawfully interfered with execution of court orders and judicial independence.
Constitutional law – separation of powers – Parliamentary committees lack power to review or alter court judgments or execution of orders; Judicial review – illegality and ultra vires actions by PAC; Government Proceedings Act s.19 – Treasury duty to pay decrees upon service; Public accounts oversight – limits and impermissible intrusion into judicial function.
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7 February 2020 |
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Dismissal without a disciplinary hearing contrary to statutory standing orders is unlawful; remedies include quashing, fresh hearing and damages.
Public service disciplinary law – Requirement of a separate disciplinary hearing under Section 18 of the Public Service Act 2008; audi alteram partem. Interpretation – Regulation 47 of the Public Service Regulations 2009 cannot override substantive statutory protections; regulation to be read compatibly with the Act. Effect of criminal conviction – Conviction does not automatically remove a public officer; disciplinary process remains necessary. Remedies – Certiorari to quash unlawful dismissal, mandamus for fresh disciplinary proceedings, damages, interest and costs.
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7 February 2020 |
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Foreign judgments—international warrant of arrest—reciprocal enforcement—requirement for registration—civil judgments—extradition—Interpol jurisdiction—illegality—lack of reciprocal arrangement—constitutional rights—costs
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7 February 2020 |
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Judicial review challenge to a promotion dismissed as moot after Presidential directive was regularized; late supplementary affidavit rejected.
Administrative law – Judicial review – Promotion and appointment in public service – regularization by Presidential directive and PSC instrument; Mootness – application overtaken by events; Civil procedure – inadmissibility of supplementary affidavit filed after close of pleadings without leave.
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7 February 2020 |
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The applicant's unlawful arrest, incommunicado detention and torture breached constitutional rights; court awarded compensatory and punitive damages.
Constitutional law – Article 23 (personal liberty) – arbitrary arrest and detention in un‑gazetted place; Article 24 and 44(a) – freedom from torture – acts constituting torture; Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act 2012 – definition and prohibition; remedies – compensatory and exemplary damages and costs; civil procedure – failure to specifically deny affidavit allegations results in acceptance.
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7 February 2020 |
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Preliminary objections on timeliness and deponent competence overruled; factual disputes required further investigation; costs stayed in cause.
Civil procedure — interlocutory applications — computation of time under Order 12 CPR where no ADR/scheduling conference; affidavits in rejoinder; substantive justice over technicalities (Art 126(2)(e)). Company law — removal of directors (s.195 Companies Act) — competence to swear affidavits; factual disputes unsuitable for resolution at preliminary objection stage.
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5 February 2020 |
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Admission of receipt entitled the applicant to repayment, bank interest and damages for respondent’s failure to deliver the lease.
Civil procedure – Admission in written statement of defence and on record – Effect under Order 13 r.6 – Judgment on admission. Contract – Total failure of consideration – Entitlement to restitution, interest and damages where a seller/lessor retains payment but cannot deliver title. Remedies – Recovery of commercial loan principal and bank interest where plaintiff relied on loan to effect transaction; award of special and general damages. Counterclaim – Failure to prove cause of action leads to dismissal.
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5 February 2020 |
| January 2020 |
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Board members' letter about internal governance was not defamatory; opinions protected and claim dismissed.
Defamation — reasonable reader and contextual approach — distinction between verifiable facts and honest opinion — internal board communications and freedom of speech — privileged/qualified communications on governance matters.
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20 January 2020 |
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DNA confirmed paternity and disputed land was held to be family land, preventing plaintiff’s unilateral sale.
Family land — Land Act s.38A — definition and protection of family land; customary marriage — requirement of ceremony and registration; DNA parentage evidence — admissibility and weight; constructive spouse doctrine for property protection; refusal to allow unilateral disposal of family land.
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17 January 2020 |
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The trial court correctly struck out the fresh suit as res judicata; the revision is dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – Revision (s.83 CPA) – confined to jurisdictional errors; non‑jurisdictional grievances are for appeal. Res judicata (s.7 CPA) – elements: same matter directly and substantially in issue, same parties or those claiming under them, competent court, heard and finally decided; Explanations 4 & 5 widen scope to matters/reliefs that could or ought to have been raised. Preliminary objection – point of law (including res judicata) may be raised at any stage and can be argued without an affidavit. Consent judgment – execution or challenge through proper mechanisms; cannot be bypassed by filing a fresh suit to alter agreed terms.
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10 January 2020 |
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Court refused variation absent creditors’ resolution and, under s.174, appointed a registered, experienced administrator.
Insolvency law – administration deed variation – section 167 requires creditors’ resolution; court’s power to remove/appoint administrator under section 174(1)(c) and Regulation 162; requirement for registered insolvency practitioner with practical insolvency experience; considerations of independence and stakeholder interests in appointment.
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2 January 2020 |