Wakilii

Auma Betty Okullu v National Water & Sewerage Corporation (Civil Suit 58 of 2015)

High Court · [2024] UGHC 1349 · 2024 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for damages under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act following the death of plaintiff's son in the course of employment
Decision
Judgment entered for the Plaintiff with damages totalling UGX 122,350,000 plus interest and costs

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held that National Water & Sewerage Corporation was liable in negligence for the death of its employee, Bosco Atube, who died from respiratory arrest after being trapped in a 15-metre-deep sewerage pit while unblocking a public sewer. The court found that the Corporation breached its statutory duty under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to provide adequate protective equipment, including communication equipment, gas masks, and suitable protective gear. The Corporation's argument that the deceased had left protective gear at another site was rejected based on a condolence message from the Corporation's General Manager confirming the deceased died in service. The court awarded UGX 120,000,000 in general damages and UGX 2,350,000 in special damages to the deceased's dependants.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the Plaintiff with damages totalling UGX 122,350,000 plus interest and costs

Facts

Bosco Atube, a 29-year-old casual labourer employed by National Water & Sewerage Corporation, died on 21 December 2013 while attempting to unblock a public sewer at Factory Street, Jinja Municipality. The deceased descended into a 15-metre-deep sewerage pit where he became trapped and died from respiratory arrest caused by inhaling poisonous gases. At the time of his death, he was wearing a blue overall and gloves but had no gumboots, nose mask, communication equipment, or other protective gear suitable for such hazardous work. The deceased left behind his mother Auma Betty Okullu (the plaintiff), his father Opobo Marino, and his nine-year-old daughter Adoch Winnie. The Corporation's condolence message confirmed the deceased died while trying to unblock public sewer lines in the service of the Corporation.

Issues

  1. Whether the Plaintiff has a cause of action against the Defendant under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act?
  2. Whether the deceased's death was caused by the negligence of the Defendant?
  3. Whether the deceased has any dependants?
  4. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

  • The Plaintiff is awarded special damages of UGX 2,350,000 (Two million three hundred and fifty thousand shillings) with interest at the rate of 15% from the date of filing this suit until payment in full.
  • The Plaintiff is awarded general damages of UGX 120,000,000 (One hundred and twenty million shillings).
  • The Defendant shall pay the costs of the suit.
  • Interest on general damages at court rate from the date of judgment until payment in full.
  • All payments to the Plaintiff by the Defendant shall be deposited in court in accordance with Section 7 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, Cap 79.

Rules and key headnotes

Employer's Statutory Duty — Occupational Safety — Protective Equipment
An employer has a statutory duty under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2006 to provide adequate personal protective equipment to employees undertaking hazardous work, and failure to do so constitutes negligence where the employee suffers injury or death as a result.
Negligence — Duty of Care — Employer to Employee
For hazardous operations such as unblocking a deep sewerage pit, an employer's duty of care extends beyond providing basic protective clothing to include gas masks or oxygen masks, communication equipment, sufficient light, and ladders, the absence of which may constitute a breach of duty where death results.
Course of Employment — Vicarious Liability
An act done by an employee in the course of employment makes the employer liable even if done contrary to orders or without express authorisation, so long as it is merely a manner of carrying out what the employee was employed to do, and where the employer admits the work being done concerned its own property or operations.
Negligence — Causation
Where an employee dies from respiratory arrest after being trapped in a sewerage pit without adequate protective equipment, and the employer owed a duty to provide such equipment, the breach of that duty is the cause of death notwithstanding any contributory conduct by the employee.
Dependants — Proof of Dependency
Under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, it is not sufficient to establish a family relationship to the deceased; a claimant must prove actual dependency on the deceased for the provision of ordinary necessities of life, though such proof may be inferred in the case of elderly parents and minor children without requiring documentary evidence of every payment made.
Special Damages — Funeral Expenses — Proof
Failure to attach receipts for funeral and burial expenses is excusable because at the time of bereavement it may not be possible to attend to details such as asking for receipts, and special damages for such expenses may be awarded on the basis of reasonable estimates where pleaded.

Legislation cited (11)

Cases cited (18)

  • Tororo Cement Co Ltd v Frokina International Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 2 of 2002)
  • Otim Solomon v Nsereko Anthony & Another (HCCS No. 275 of 2014)
  • H Kateralwire v Paul Lwanga [1989/90] HCB 56
  • Cooke vs Gull LR 8E. P 116
  • Read vs Brown 22 QBD P31
  • Interfreight Forwarders (U) Ltd v East African Development Bank (SCCA No. 32 of 1992)
  • Muwonge v Attorney General [1967] EA 17
  • Tusubira Robert v Anguma Collins and New Uganda Securiko Services Ltd (Civil Suit No. 238 of 2012)
  • AKPM Lutaya v Attorney General (Civil Appeal No. 10 of 2002)
  • Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562
  • Uganda Electricity Board v GW Musoke (Civil Appeal No. 30 of 1993)
  • Odong Cypriano v Attorney General (Civil Suit No. 15 of 2006)
  • Isaac Mawanda & 3 Others v Tugumisirize Abel & New Uganda Securiko Ltd (Civil Suit No. 104 of 2017)
  • Josephine Etiang v Attorney General (HCCS No. 86 of 2002)
  • Mugabi John v Attorney General (Civil Suit No. 133 of 2002)
  • Kyambadde v Mpigi District Administration [1983] HCB 44
  • Davies v Powell Duffryn Associated Collieries Ltd [1942] AC 601
  • Uganda Electricity Board v GW Musoke [1997] HCB 23

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Auma Betty Okullu v National Water & Sewerage Corporation (Civil Suit 58 of 2015) [2024] UGHC 1349 (10 July 2024)
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.