Wakilii

Turyatemba v Musinguzi (Civil Appeal No. 10 of 2013)

Court of Appeal · [2020] UGCA 2067 · 2020 Appeal Dismissed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Second civil appeal from the High Court (sitting at Kabale) decision on appeal from a Chief Magistrate's award of general damages for a traffic accident
Decision
Appeal dismissed; award of UGX 12,000,000 general damages and lower court orders upheld

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Cited — treatment unverified cited in 1 (treatment unverified) Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

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Holding

On a second appeal arising from a traffic accident claim, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. It held that the medical report (Police Form No. 3) prepared by an absent doctor was admissible through a colleague familiar with his handwriting under the Evidence Act, and that the failure to formally tender the form was a mere technicality remediable under Article 126(2)(e) of the Constitution. The medical evidence merely corroborated the respondent's own credible oral evidence of injuries, including loss of his spleen. The Court found the trial Magistrate's award of UGX 12,000,000 in general damages was a judicious exercise of discretion and declined to interfere.

Facts

The respondent was being carried on a motorcycle when the appellant, driving Motor Vehicle Registration No. UAG 423C, collided with the motorcycle on the Kihihi-Kihembo Road on 9 September 2005. The respondent fell and sustained severe multiple injuries to the forehead, left arm and left side of the body. He was rushed to Kambuga Hospital and transferred to Kisiizi Hospital, where he was operated upon to remove his damaged spleen, and was hospitalised for ten days. He was later referred to Mbarara University Hospital for further management. At Kisiizi, Dr. Okumu Gabriel examined the respondent and recorded the findings on Police Form No. 3, but Dr. Okumu later went for further studies and was unavailable to testify. His colleague, Dr. Mugwanya Edward, who was familiar with Dr. Okumu's handwriting, gave evidence of the recorded findings. The Police Form was not formally tendered as an exhibit. The Chief Magistrate awarded the respondent UGX 12,000,000 in general damages, considering the respondent's age and loss of a vital organ. The first appeal to the High Court was unsuccessful.

Issues

  1. Whether the first appellate Judge failed to re-evaluate the evidence and wrongly concluded that the omission to tender Police Form No. 3 containing the medical report was not fatal to the medical evidence.
  2. Whether the award of general damages of UGX 12,000,000 was excessive and unconscionable.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Decision and orders of the lower court upheld.
  • Appellant to bear the costs of this appeal and the courts below.

Key headnotes

Evidence — Admissibility — Statements of relevant facts by a person who cannot be found — Records made in the discharge of professional duty
A medical report prepared and signed by a doctor in the discharge of his professional duty is admissible where the doctor's attendance cannot be procured without undue delay or expense, and may be proved through a colleague familiar with his handwriting under section 30 of the Evidence Act.
Civil Procedure — Technicalities — Failure to formally tender a document on the court file — Article 126(2)(e) of the Constitution
The omission to formally tender a medical report in evidence, where the document is already on the court file and the party was unrepresented, is a mere technicality that may be remedied under Article 126(2)(e) of the Constitution and does not invalidate the substance of evidence recorded on oath.
Civil Procedure — Second appeal — Concurrent findings of fact — Limits of appellate interference
A second appellate court resolves issues of law only and is precluded from questioning concurrent findings of fact by the trial court and first appellate court, save where there was no evidence to support the finding, which is itself a question of law.
Damages & Quantum — General damages — Appellate interference with trial court's assessment
An appellate court should not interfere with an award of general damages made by a trial court unless the award is based on a wrong principle of law or is manifestly too high or too low; where the trial court exercised its discretion judiciously, the award will not be disturbed.

Legislation cited (4)

  • Evidence Act Cap 6 s.30
  • Evidence Act s.43
  • Constitution of Uganda Article 126(2)(e)
  • Rules of the Court of Appeal Rule 32(2)

Cases cited (8)

  • Ongom John Bosco v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 21 of 2007)
  • D.N.N Sentongo & Anor v Uganda Railway (Civil Suit No. 263 of 1987)
  • Musisi Dirisa & 3 Ors v Sietico (U) Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 29 of 1993)
  • Ex parte Firth (2) (1828) 19 Ch.D 419
  • Tanganyika Farmers Association Ltd v Unyamwezi Development Corporation Ltd (1960) 1 EA 620
  • Nicholas Roussos v Gulamhussein Habib Virani & Anor (Civil Appeal No. 9 of 1993)
  • Storms v Hutchinson [1905] AC 515
  • Uganda Commercial Bank v Deo Kigozi (2002) 1 EA 305
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.