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Citation
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Judgment date
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| January 2024 |
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Appellant failed to establish bona fide triable issues; written sale agreement prevails and summary judgment is enforceable.
Civil procedure – summary suit – Order 36 r.4 CPR – unconditional leave to appear and defend; Evidence – parol evidence rule; documentary evidence prevails absent exception; necessity of pleading and adducing evidence to establish forgery or bona fide triable issues.
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31 January 2024 |
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Appellate court dismisses bank’s appeal: trial rightly weighed expert evidence, applied fiduciary duty and upheld damages.
* Banking law – bank–customer relationship – fiduciary duty to exercise utmost good faith and due diligence; negligence may ground liability even if not expressly pleaded.
* Evidence – expert opinion – expert reports are not binding; courts may adopt or reject expert hypotheses and must test such evidence against other material.
* Evidence – verification correspondence and forensic reports – unsigned or untested documents that are not sworn or explained at trial have limited probative value.
* Standard of proof – allegations of fraud in civil proceedings require a higher standard than ordinary balance of probabilities.
* Civil appeal – appellate court re-evaluates evidence but will not disturb discretionary awards of damages absent misdirection.
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29 January 2024 |
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Court allowed out-of-time service due to counsel’s mistake but penalised the applicant with costs for dilatory conduct.
* Civil procedure — Extension of time — Mistake of counsel — Whether negligence of former counsel can constitute sufficient cause to extend time to serve a memorandum of appeal.
* Civil procedure — Delay and diligence — Dilatory conduct assessed by presence or absence of follow-up evidence by litigant.
* Interest of justice — Preference to decide disputes on merits balanced against counsel’s lapses and party diligence — costs consequences.
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29 January 2024 |
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SIEMS procurement was part of the appellant’s Section 4 functions and exempt from PPDA regulation; tribunal and Authority orders set aside.
Public procurement – exemption of central banking functions – whether cybersecurity/ SIEM procurement falls under statutory Section 4 functions – accreditation of alternative procurement manuals – limits of regulator’s jurisdiction and advisory power – procedural fairness where tribunal decides matters not ventilated at hearing.
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25 January 2024 |
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Court finds bailiff’s execution unlawful, holds bailiff liable, awards compensation, punitive damages, interest, arrest and costs.
Execution law – wrongful/over-attachment by court bailiff – failure to follow Judicature (Court Bailiffs) Rules (no inventory/return) – bailiff’s qualified immunity lost where action unlawful – decree holder not vicariously liable absent collusion – remedies: compensation, punitive damages, interest, arrest/prosecution, costs.
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25 January 2024 |
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Failure to prove generation of contractual "new business" defeats commission, fraud and unjust enrichment claims.
Employment law – commission on "new business" – construction of contract terms and 12‑month recognition period – burden of proof and requirement for contemporaneous documentary evidence; Tort – deceit/fraudulent misrepresentation – requirement of false representation inducing contract; Restitution – unjust enrichment – must show enrichment at claimant’s expense.
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25 January 2024 |
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Arbitral award set aside because chair appointment varied a public contract without required Solicitor General approval, vitiating jurisdiction.
* Arbitration – tribunal composition – where parties alter arbitration clause of a public contract without Solicitor General approval, the resultant tribunal may be improperly constituted and its award set aside (s.34(2)(a)(v) Arbitration and Conciliation Act). * Public contracts – requirement for Attorney General/Solicitor General clearance – variation of contract terms affecting appointment procedures requires approval. * Procedure – non-objection during arbitration does not validate an unlawfully constituted tribunal.
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25 January 2024 |
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Cancellation of a registered title during a pending ownership suit and interim injunction is illegal and can be quashed.
* Administrative law – Judicial review – Amenability of decisions by land registration officials to judicial review for illegality, irrationality or procedural impropriety; * Land law – Cancellation of certificate of title – Section 91 Land Act – limits on cancellation where ownership dispute and interim court orders are pending; * Remedies – Certiorari to quash unlawful cancellation and mandamus to compel reinstatement; refusal of general damages pending parallel proceedings.
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24 January 2024 |
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High Court stayed mandamus proceedings to avoid multiplicity and await resolution of related Supreme Court payment disputes.
Civil Procedure Act s.6 – stay where matter directly and substantially in issue in previously instituted proceeding; inherent jurisdiction s.98 – ends of justice/abuse of process; Judicature Act s.33 – avoid multiplicity of proceedings; mandamus for payment of decretal sums; locus and overlap of representative appeals in different courts.
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23 January 2024 |
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Appellate court held that an authorization to sell a vehicle could be used to offset debt and corrected the outstanding balance to UGX 6,800,000/=.
Contract law – sale of motor vehicle – interpretation of ambiguous authorization to sell (DEX4) – custody versus sale; Vehicle ownership evidence – sale permissible despite lack of registration where possession and acquisition proof exist; Calculation of outstanding debt – arithmetic correction from UGX 5,300,000/= to UGX 6,800,000/=; Costs – discretion exercised wrongly, costs follow the event.
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23 January 2024 |
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Applicants lacked standing for judicial review; public-interest advocacy alone does not establish direct or sufficient interest.
Judicial review — locus standi — Rule 3A requires direct or sufficient objective interest; public-interest advocacy or mere concern with legality is insufficient to confer standing; public interest litigation permitted only where public right or distinct personal interest is shown.
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22 January 2024 |
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Court finds malicious prosecution proved but torture not established; awards general and exemplary damages, interest and costs.
Malicious prosecution – elements: institution by state, favourable termination, lack of reasonable and probable cause, malice; Torture claim – requirement for corroborative medical/expert evidence to prove severe pain or suffering; Quantum – award of general and exemplary damages and high post-judgment interest; Costs awarded to successful plaintiffs.
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19 January 2024 |
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Group human-rights claim succeeds: unlawful eviction without court order or compensation violated property, livelihood, housing and cultural rights.
Human rights enforcement — representative/group actions permitted under Article 50(2), Human Rights Enforcement Act and Enforcement Rules; bona fide occupant status — long possession can establish lawful occupation; unlawful eviction — eviction without court order or prompt adequate compensation violates rights to property, fair administrative action, livelihood, housing and culture; remedies — special and general damages awarded, exemplary/aggravated damages refused; interest and costs ordered.
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19 January 2024 |
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Using inaccessible court buildings violates persons with disabilities' rights to equality and the applicant's right to practice his profession.
* Constitutional law – accessibility – duty of State and institutions to make public facilities, including courts, accessible to persons with disabilities.
* Human rights – equality and non‑discrimination – failure to provide accessibility violates Articles 21 and 35(1) of the Constitution.
* Right to profession – inaccessible court premises infringe the right to practice a profession.
* Remedies – declarations and orders for progressive realization; public‑interest litigation; no award of damages or costs.
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18 January 2024 |
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Court set aside default judgment: counsel’s defective affidavit commissioning can constitute good cause to grant leave to defend.
Order 36 r.11 CPR – setting aside default judgment; mistake of counsel – consequences of advocate’s defective commissioning of affidavit; struck-out application as nullity – not an inter partes merits determination; good cause – existence of bona fide triable issues warranting leave to defend.
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18 January 2024 |
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Police negligence in random firing establishes State vicarious liability and plaintiffs’ entitlement to damages.
* Limitation law – disability exemption and substantive-justice discretion to entertain time-barred claims.
* Tort – negligence – duty of care, breach, foreseeability and causation in police use of firearms.
* Vicarious liability – State liability for torts committed by police officers acting in the course of employment.
* Damages – distinction between special, general and exemplary/aggravated damages; assessment and interest.
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17 January 2024 |
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Judicial review dismissed: Electoral Commission lawfully refused reservation of proposed party name and symbols; no illegality, irrationality or procedural unfairness shown.
* Administrative law – judicial review – scope limited to legality, rationality and procedural propriety – not a merits appeal; * Political Parties law – sections 7 and 8 of the Political Parties & Other Organisations Act – prohibition on names, symbols, slogans or colours identical or closely resembling those of registered parties or the Republic; * Procedural fairness – requirements of audi alteram partem and absence of bias; * Remedies – certiorari/mandamus not granted where no illegality, irrationality or procedural impropriety established.
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16 January 2024 |
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State’s failure to legislate on private hospital pricing violates and threatens patients’ right to health; legislation ordered within two years.
* Constitutional and statutory duty – State obligation to protect right to health – regulation of private health facility levies and pricing.
* Public interest standing – organisations may enforce others’ human rights under Article 50 and Human Rights (Enforcement) Act.
* Mootness – prior mandamus on COVID‑19 fees limits relief; broader regulatory claims remain live.
* Evidence – newspaper hearsay inadmissible for truth; court accepted direct affidavits and took judicial notice of escalating private healthcare costs.
* Remedies – declaration of violation, stakeholder consultation, and legislative mandate within two years to regulate pricing, prohibit detention over unpaid bills, and prescribe penalties.
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16 January 2024 |
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Court allowed a sole surviving shareholder/director to hold a single‑member company meeting under section 142 to break a quorum deadlock.
Companies Act s.142 – Court‑ordered meetings where articles’ quorum requirements make meetings impracticable; sole surviving shareholder/director seeking single‑member meeting; relief to overcome deadlock of company affairs.
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16 January 2024 |
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Failure to exhaust statutory electoral remedies rendered the judicial review application premature and it was struck out.
Administrative law – Judicial review – Requirement to exhaust statutory/internal remedies under Electoral Commission Act s.15 and Article 61(f) – Prematurity and incompetence of judicial review where alternative remedy exists – Costs and slip-rule correction.
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15 January 2024 |
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Appellate court upheld trial findings: special damages unproven, damages and half costs affirmed; appeal dismissed.
• Civil procedure – assessment of damages – requirement to prove special damages with admissible evidence (receipts, valuations) and not by unpleaded afterthoughts.
• Evidence – appellate re-evaluation of credibility and weight of evidence; limited interference with trial court’s factual findings.
• Pleadings – claims not pleaded at trial (including exemplary damages) cannot be raised successfully on appeal.
• Costs – discretionary reduction to half where successful party is partly to blame (Civil Procedure Act s.27).
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12 January 2024 |
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Applicant's challenge to a private university's interim suspension was premature and failed for not exhausting internal remedies.
Administrative law — Judicial review — applicability to private bodies — interim suspension pending disciplinary inquiry — natural justice and procedural fairness at pre‑decisional stage — exhaustion of internal remedies — prematurity of judicial review application.
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12 January 2024 |
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Slip-rule correction granted to amend a clerical misidentification of the withdrawn suit number; each party to bear own costs.
* Civil Procedure — Slip rule (Section 99 CPA) — correction of clerical or accidental slips in judgments and rulings; requirements and limits.
* Distinction between clerical/expressional errors and substantive errors — slip rule not available to re-open merits.
* Application of Uganda Development Bank Ltd v Oil Seeds authority — court may correct to reflect manifest intention.
* Relief granted: correction of misnumbered withdrawn suit (HCCS No. 330/2013) and costs: each party bears own costs.
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12 January 2024 |
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A regulator's failure to investigate turned a lawful seizure into wrongful detention, attracting detinue liability and damages.
Detinue – wrongful detention of chattels – initial lawful seizure on complaint versus wrongful continued detention due to complainant’s failure to investigate; Vicarious liability of regulatory agency for acts of its regional officer; burden of proof on quality/source of agricultural planting materials; damages and interest awarded for conversion/detinue.
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12 January 2024 |
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Applicant's claims of torture and unlawful detention dismissed for lack of credible, persuasive evidence.
* Constitutional law – freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment – Article 44(a) Constitution; Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, 2012 – strict test and burden of proof.
* Constitutional law – right to personal liberty – Article 23 – requirement to be informed of reasons for arrest/detention and right to consult counsel; claimant must assert those rights.
* Evidence – delays, inconsistencies and credibility considerations defeat civil standard proof of torture or unlawful detention.
* Vicarious liability – no sufficient basis to hold the Attorney General vicariously liable where primary allegations are unproved.
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12 January 2024 |
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Res judicata did not bar the suit because the earlier judgment concerned different issues and did not decide the present claims.
Civil procedure – res judicata – applicability where prior suit concerned land title and different parties; res judicata requires same parties, same subject matter and a final decision on the matter; abandoned or unproven claims in earlier suit do not constitute res judicata; joinder of necessary parties – Order 1 r.10 CPR.
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11 January 2024 |
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Judicial review dismissed because applicants failed to exhaust internal constitutional remedies before approaching the court.
* Administrative law – Judicial review – Requirement to exhaust internal or alternative remedies before approaching court (Rule 7A).
* Internal governance – Association constitutions – Dispute Resolution, Disciplinary and Arbitration Committee and Board of Trustees as internal remedies.
* Procedural competence – refusal to attend disciplinary hearing defeats claim of irregularity and renders judicial review incompetent.
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11 January 2024 |
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Summary dismissal without fair hearing and improper appellate procedure rendered dismissal unlawful; UGX 80,000,000 damages awarded.
Administrative law – Judicial review – Procedural impropriety and fair hearing; Employment law – probation clauses and right to notice; Internal disciplinary procedure – limits of Staff Appeals Committee jurisdiction; Irrationality – decision outside range of reasonable outcomes; Remedies – certiorari, damages and costs.
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9 January 2024 |
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Summary dismissal without fair hearing and an appeals committee acting beyond jurisdiction rendered the dismissal procedurally improper and irrational.
Judicial review – procedural impropriety and natural justice; summary dismissal and probationary ambiguity; appellate committee jurisdiction; substitution of charges on review; irrationality of administrative decision; damages for unfair termination.
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9 January 2024 |
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A certificate of order that wrongly names a non‑party government is reviewable and is set aside.
Civil procedure – Review under Order 46 and s.82 CPA – error apparent on the face of the record; Consent orders – validity as against non-parties; Advocates’ bill of costs – certificate of order; Mandamus arising from erroneously issued certificate; Non-party liability; Pensions/assignability arguments raised but decision founded on error apparent.
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8 January 2024 |
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Employer unlawfully terminated contract employees contrary to HR Manual and Employment Act; terminal benefits, damages and interest awarded.
* Employment law – wrongful/unlawful termination – requirement to follow HR Manual and Employment Act when renewing contracts and dismissing staff; * Contract renewal – fixed-term renewal period prescribed by HR Manual; * Disciplinary procedure – reliance on audit/forensic report versus requirement for prosecution/conviction; * Remedies – terminal benefits (one month notice or pay, accrued salary, outstanding entitlements, gratuity), general and aggravated damages; * Interest – 20% p.a. on special damages from suit, 8% p.a. on general/aggravated from judgment; * Severance pay not payable for unlawful termination under cited authority.
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5 January 2024 |
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Unlawful prolonged detention and post-conviction retention of phone breached rights to personal liberty and property.
Constitutional rights — personal liberty — detention beyond 48 hours without production to court or release on bond; access to counsel and next of kin; property rights — seizure versus continued retention of mobile phone; Police Act vs Computer Misuse Act; disciplinary proceedings — procedural impropriety vs constitutional right to fair hearing; remedies — declaration, return of property, general damages, costs.
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3 January 2024 |
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Unlawful 32‑day detention and post‑conviction retention of a seized mobile phone violated rights to liberty and property.
Constitutional law — Personal liberty — Arrest and detention exceeding 48 hours without production in court or bond — Denial of access to next of kin and lawyers — Violation of Article 23. Property — Seizure of mobile phone under Police Act lawful during investigation; continued retention after conviction unlawful — Article 26. Fair hearing — Disciplinary proceedings not equivalent to criminal trial; failure to provide record/schedule appeal amounts to procedural impropriety, not constitutional breach. Police Act vs Computer Misuse Act — Specific Computer Misuse provisions apply only when investigating offences under that Act. Remedies — Declarations, return of property, general damages and costs; exemplary damages declined.
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3 January 2024 |
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2 January 2024 |