Wakilii

Omunyoko Akol Johnson v Attorney General (Civil Appeal No 06 of 2012)

Supreme Court · [2015] UGSC 129 · 2015 Appeal Partly Allowed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Second appeal to the Supreme Court from a Court of Appeal decision dismissing the appellant's appeal against the High Court's remedies for his unlawful dismissal from the Public Service.
Decision
Appeal allowed in part; damages awards substituted and increased, reinstatement refused, with the majority awarding lump-sum compensation in lieu of reinstatement.

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Cited — treatment unverified cited in 14 (treatment unverified) Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

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Holding

Allowing the appeal in part, the Supreme Court held that reinstatement of an unlawfully dismissed public servant is discretionary, not automatic, and was rightly refused given the 17-year lapse and changed circumstances. The Employment Act 2006 could not apply retrospectively to a 1998 dismissal, nor did it govern statutory public employment. The trial judge erred in making a single omnibus award; special damages (which must be specifically pleaded and proved) and general damages must be assessed separately. The Court substituted awards of Shs 300,000,000 special damages, Shs 19,414,874 salary in lieu of leave, and Shs 150,000,000 general damages. Interest on special damages runs from dismissal at 20%, and on general damages from judgment at the court rate. Exemplary damages were properly refused.

Facts

The appellant was recruited into the Public Service as a Foreign Service Officer in 1988 and posted to Uganda's Embassy in Beijing in 1993. In March 1997 he was recalled to Uganda but delayed departure because the Ministry lacked funds to ship his effects. He was repatriated in October 1997, interdicted on 4 March 1998, and dismissed by the Public Service Commission on 6 June 1998 without following the procedure in the Public Service Regulations, contrary to the rules of natural justice. He sued the Attorney General seeking declarations that the dismissal was void, reinstatement, and damages. The High Court held the dismissal unlawful but declined reinstatement, awarding an omnibus Shs 180,000,000 for general and aggravated damages. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal. He alleged arrest, torture and trespass to property by Ugandan officials acting with Chinese police, claims the trial judge disbelieved. The dispute on second appeal centred on reinstatement, the proper assessment of special and general damages, exemplary damages, and interest.

Issues

  1. Whether the Court of Appeal erred in failing to declare the appellant's dismissal ultra vires, null and void.
  2. Whether the courts below erred in declining to order the appellant's reinstatement in the Public Service.
  3. Whether the Employment Act 2006 applied to the appellant's pre-2006 statutory public employment.
  4. Whether the trial judge erred in making an omnibus award covering general and aggravated damages instead of separately assessed special and general damages.
  5. Whether exemplary or punitive damages ought to have been awarded.
  6. Whether interest was properly awarded on the damages, and from what date and at what rate.

Orders

  • Appeal partially succeeds; part of the Court of Appeal decision set aside and substituted.
  • Appellant awarded special damages of Shs 300,000,000 for arrears of salary over 26 years of service.
  • Appellant awarded Shs 19,414,874 as salary in lieu of leave for 26 years.
  • Interest on the special damages awarded at 20% from the date of dismissal until payment in full.
  • Appellant awarded Shs 150,000,000 as general damages, with interest at the court rate from the date of judgment until payment in full.
  • Appellant awarded 50% of the costs in the Supreme Court and the courts below.
  • Trial court awards confirmed: Shs 495,084 withheld salary during interdiction; Shs 1,500,000 transport allowance; US$90 (Speke Hotel two nights); US$1,372 (air ticket for Francis Aturia).

Key headnotes

Employment Law — Statutory Public Employment — Reinstatement as a Discretionary Remedy
Reinstatement of an unlawfully dismissed employee, including a public servant, is not automatic but lies in the discretion of the court, to be exercised judiciously having regard to all the circumstances, including the practicability of return and the lapse of time since dismissal.
Employment Law — Employment Act 2006 — No Retrospective Application
The Employment Act 2006, which came into force on 24 May 2006, does not apply retrospectively to a dismissal that occurred in 1998, and in any event is directed at contractual employment for wages rather than statutory public employment governed by the Constitution, the Public Service Act and Regulations.
Damages — Special and General Damages — Requirement of Separate Assessment
A trial court errs in principle when it awards a single omnibus sum covering special, general and aggravated damages; special damages, being actual proven losses, and general damages, which are at large, rest on different principles and must be assessed and awarded separately.
Damages — Special Damages — Pleading and Proof
Special damages must be specifically pleaded and strictly proved before they can be awarded; speculative heads of loss that were never actually earned or incurred are not recoverable.
Damages — Interest — Date from which Interest Runs
Interest on special damages runs from the date of loss, while interest on general damages runs from the date of judgment, since general damages are not quantified until the court assesses them.
Damages — Exemplary/Punitive Damages — Rookes v Barnard Categories
Exemplary damages are exceptional and confined to the Rookes v Barnard categories — oppressive, arbitrary or unconstitutional acts by government servants, conduct calculated to make a profit exceeding compensation, or statutory authorisation; an unfair-procedure dismissal that is not otherwise oppressive does not attract them.
Administrative Law — First Appellate Court — Duty to Re-evaluate Evidence and Address All Grounds
A first appellate court has a duty to reappraise the evidence and to pronounce on every ground of appeal, or to give reasons for not doing so; failure to consider grounds is a misdirection in law that obliges the second appellate court to review the trial court's findings.

Legislation cited (10)

  • Employment Act 2006 s.71
  • Employment Act Cap.219
  • Constitution of Uganda art.173
  • Constitution of Uganda art.27(1)(a)
  • Constitution of Uganda art.38(1)
  • Constitution of Uganda art.40
  • Public Service Act
  • Public Service Regulations reg.36
  • Pension Act
  • Supreme Court Practice Direction (No.2 of 2005) on Submission of Written Arguments

Cases cited (11)

  • Federal Civil Service Commission & Others vs Laoye (1990) LRC 482
  • Kakumu Perez v Attorney General (Civil Appeal No. 113 of 2003)
  • Bank of Uganda v Betty Tinkamanyire (Civil Appeal No. 12 of 2007)
  • Barclays Bank of Uganda v Godfrey Mubiru (Civil Appeal No. 1 of 1998)
  • Kifumunte vs Uganda (1999) 2 E.A. 127
  • R vs East Berkshire Health Authority Ex parte Walsh (1984) 3 All.ER 425
  • Ridge vs Baldwin (1964) AC 63
  • Rookes vs Barnard (1964) AC 1131
  • Cassell & Co Ltd vs Broome (1972) A.C. 1027
  • Patel vs Benbros Motors Tanganyika Ltd. EACA No 5 of 1968
  • Kabu Auctioneers & Court Bailiffs v J K Motors Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 19 of 2009)
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.