Wakilii

Bakoomba Ruth Nabirye and Another v DFCU Bank Limited (Miscellaneous Application No. 24 of 2025)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 956 · 2025 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal from a ruling setting aside a garnishee absolute order
Decision
Leave to appeal granted; applicants may proceed to the Court of Appeal

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court granted the applicants leave to appeal, finding that serious legal questions arose from the Principal Judge's transfer of a file from Iganga to Kampala following a bias complaint made without first applying for recusal before the trial judge as required by the Constitution (Recusal of Judicial Officers) Practice Directions 2019, and from the subsequent setting aside of a garnishee absolute order. The court held these issues raised questions about the proper exercise of administrative powers versus judicial procedures and merited serious judicial consideration by the Court of Appeal.

Outcome

Leave to appeal granted; applicants may proceed to the Court of Appeal

Facts

The applicants obtained a judgment and decree on 27 April 2011 against Iganga District Local Government. They applied for execution by way of garnishee application and obtained a garnishee absolute against the respondent bank for UGX 1,925,458,011. The respondent failed to comply and filed Miscellaneous Application No. 182 of 2024 in the High Court at Iganga. The respondent also filed a complaint with the Principal Judge alleging bias and citing the mood of court at Iganga. The Principal Judge called the file to Kampala and heard the matter himself, ultimately setting aside the garnishee absolute order. The respondent had not applied for recusal before the trial judge at Iganga as required by the Constitution (Recusal of Judicial Officers) Practice Directions 2019. The applicants challenged both the administrative transfer of the file and the judicial decision setting aside the garnishee order.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants have demonstrated sufficient grounds to merit leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
  2. Whether the Principal Judge can disregard the Constitution (Recusal of Judicial Officers) Practice Directions 2019 and remove a file from a trial judge and allocate it to himself without due hearing.
  3. Whether the intended appeal raises substantial questions of law warranting serious judicial consideration.

Orders

  • Application for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal allowed.
  • Costs awarded to the applicants.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Leave to Appeal — Principles for Grant — Grounds that Merit Serious Judicial Consideration
Leave to appeal will normally be granted where prima facie it appears that there are grounds of appeal which merit serious judicial consideration.
Administrative Law — Judicial Administration — Exercise of Administrative Powers by Principal Judge — Interaction with Judicial Procedures
The manner in which a complaint of bias is raised and the subsequent transfer of a file by the Principal Judge raises a serious point of law as to how much administrative power can be exercised to rule out laid down judicial procedures or practice, particularly where the Constitution (Recusal of Judicial Officers) Practice Directions 2019 require that allegations of bias be made before the trial judge first.
Judicial Review — Recusal of Judicial Officers — Proper Procedure — Constitution (Recusal of Judicial Officers) Practice Directions 2019
Where a party alleges bias against a judicial officer, the laid down procedure and practice requires the party alleging bias to apply for recusal before the trial judge, who must then rule on whether to step down from the case. Filing a complaint with the Principal Judge claiming that the mood at court would deny them justice, without first seeking recusal from the trial judge, raises serious questions about proper procedure and potential forum shopping.
Administrative Law — Independence of Judiciary — Internal Interference — Constitutional Protection
The Constitution provides that in the exercise of judicial power, courts shall be independent and shall not be subjected to the control or direction of any person or authority, and no person or authority shall interfere with the courts or judicial officers in the exercise of their judicial functions. Actions that bypass established judicial procedures may raise questions about whether the independence of the judiciary has been undermined from within the judiciary itself.
Civil Procedure — Garnishee Proceedings — Garnishee Absolute — Whether Fresh Application Required After Order Made Absolute
Whether a fresh garnishee application is required after an order is made absolute under Order 23 Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Rules, and whether the failure to take a fresh application can justify setting aside a garnishee absolute order, raises a point of law requiring consideration by the Court of Appeal.

Legislation cited (8)

Cases cited (6)

  • Sango Bay Estates Ltd v Dresdner Bank AG [1971] EA 17
  • GM Combine (U) Ltd v AK Detergents (U) Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 23 of 1994)
  • Baku Raphael Obudra and Obiga Kania v Attorney General (Supreme Court Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 2005)
  • Uganda Polybags Ltd v Development Finance Co Ltd (Supreme Court Miscellaneous Application No. 2 of 2000)
  • Tinyefuza v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No. 1 of 1997)
  • GM Combined (U) Ltd v AK Detergent (U) Ltd (Civil Application No. 9 of 2000)

Full judgment

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

Bakoomba Ruth Nabirye and Another v DFCU Bank Limited (Miscellaneous Application No. 24 of 2025) [2025] UGHC 956 (19 August 2025)
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.