Wakilii

Nsereko Joseph and Ors v Bank of Uganda [2004] UGSC 7

Supreme Court · 2004 Orders Clarified ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ruling of the Supreme Court clarifying its earlier judgment and orders, following the Registrar's request for directions on execution
Decision
Earlier judgment and orders clarified: all qualifying appellants to be paid pension based on Bank records under the scheme in force on 30 November 1994; qualifying appellants relieved of costs; Bank to pay directly.

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Holding

Clarifying its earlier order, the Court held that because the matter was a representative action on behalf of the Bank of Uganda Veterans Association, all appellants who qualified for pension as at 30 November 1994 — not merely those named in the plaint — must be paid. Bank of Uganda staff records form the basis for identifying qualifying appellants, and the pension scheme operating at retirement on 30 November 1994 governs the calculation. Appellants whose pension rights were not affected by the dismissal of the appeal are not required to pay costs in the Supreme Court or the courts below, and the Bank is to pay the entitled appellants directly.

Facts

The appellants, former Bank of Uganda employees represented through the Bank of Uganda Veterans Association, had their services terminated under a voluntary scheme around 30 November 1994. They sued for compensation; the High Court awarded nominal general damages and costs, the Court of Appeal reversed, and the Supreme Court dismissed their appeal on 21 March 2003 while preserving the pension rights of appellants aged 50 or more at the time they accepted termination. On execution, a dispute arose over who qualified: the appellants' counsel claimed 184 members were entitled to about Shs.3,718,000,000, while the Bank contended that of 283 appellants only 33 named in the plaint qualified, entitled to Shs.115,631,289. The Registrar, uncertain of the amount payable under the decree, sought the Court's directions, prompting this clarification ruling.

Issues

  1. Whether the Court's order preserving pension rights applied to all qualifying members of the representative action or only the appellants named in the plaint.
  2. Which pension scheme governs the calculation of pension payable to the qualifying appellants.
  3. Whether the appellants should bear the costs of the appeal notwithstanding that their pension rights were upheld.

Orders

  • All appellants who qualified for pension as at 30 November 1994 shall be paid their pension.
  • Bank of Uganda staff records shall form the basis for identification of appellants who qualified for pension.
  • The pension scheme operating at the time of retirement, 30 November 1994, shall govern the calculation of the amount of pension payable to each appellant.
  • Appellants whose rights to pension were not affected by the dismissal of the appeal shall not be required to pay costs in this Court and the courts below.
  • Bank of Uganda shall pay pension directly to all appellants who are entitled.

Key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Representative Action — Scope of relief to represented persons
Where a suit is brought as a representative action, relief enures to the benefit of all persons represented who satisfy the qualifying criteria, and is not confined to those named in the plaint.
Civil Procedure — Court Orders — Clarification of an ambiguous order
A court may, upon a request for directions, clarify an ambiguous order so as to give effect to the true intention of its decision without altering the substance of that decision.
Employment & Labour — Pension — Applicable scheme on retirement
Entitlement to and calculation of pension are governed by the pension scheme in operation at the date of the employee's retirement.
Civil Procedure — Costs — Discretion where substantive rights upheld
Where appellants' substantive rights are upheld notwithstanding the dismissal of their appeal, the court may relieve them of liability for the costs of the appeal and of the courts below.
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.