Wakilii

Bazira and Another v McLeod Russell (HC CV CS NO. 0049 OF 2004)

High Court · [2012] UGHC 432 · 2012 Judgment for Plaintiffs AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance consolidated civil suit for wrongful dismissal
Decision
Plaintiffs' dismissals declared unlawful; damages and costs awarded to both plaintiffs

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held that the dismissal of both plaintiffs by McLeod Russell was unlawful for failure to observe principles of natural justice. The employer failed to issue written summons, did not inform the plaintiffs of the charges in advance, denied them legal representation, did not produce the audit report on which the allegations were based, and kept inadequate records of the disciplinary tribunal. Although the employer's terms of employment provided for summary dismissal for misappropriation, procedural fairness was not observed. The court awarded special damages representing notice pay and general damages of UGX 50,000,000 to each plaintiff.

Outcome

Plaintiffs' dismissals declared unlawful; damages and costs awarded to both plaintiffs

Facts

The two plaintiffs were senior employees of McLeod Russell (1st plaintiff was Senior Field Manager; 2nd plaintiff was Finance Manager) until April 2004 when both were summarily dismissed for alleged breach of contract and misappropriation of funds. The dismissals related to UGX 17,000,000 that the Government of Uganda had provided to the company's Kiko Health Centre to extend health services to the surrounding community. The defendant company alleged that following a routine audit, the plaintiffs had violated terms of employment by misappropriating these funds. The defendant convened a disciplinary tribunal which found the plaintiffs culpable and dismissed them summarily. The plaintiffs denied any misappropriation and the District Health Officer testified that the government funds were properly accounted for. The suits by each plaintiff were consolidated as they were founded on similar grounds against the same defendant.

Issues

  1. Whether the dismissal of the plaintiffs was lawful.
  2. What remedies (if any) are available to the plaintiffs.

Orders

  • The dismissal of the Plaintiffs was unlawful for having been arrived at by a Tribunal that failed to observe the principles of a fair trial.
  • The 1st Plaintiff is awarded Ushs. 7,600,000/= and the 2nd Plaintiff is awarded Ushs. 1,623,000/= in special damages.
  • The award of special damages attracts interest of 29% per annum from the date of judgment till payment in full.
  • The Plaintiffs are awarded Ushs. 50,000,000/= each as general damages for the unlawful dismissal.
  • The general damages award attracts interest at court rate from the date of judgment till payment in full.
  • The Plaintiffs are awarded costs of the suit.

Rules and key headnotes

Employment & Labour — Dismissal — Fair Hearing — Principles of Natural Justice
An employer's failure to provide written summons, to inform the employee of charges in advance, to allow legal representation, to produce the basis for allegations, and to keep proper records of disciplinary proceedings constitutes a violation of principles of natural justice rendering the dismissal unlawful.
Employment & Labour — Disciplinary Procedures — Written Summons
Where an employer summons an employee to a disciplinary hearing by telephone for a matter that could result in summary dismissal, the casual nature of the summons denies the employee of the right to know in advance the charges to be leveled and constitutes procedural unfairness.
Employment & Labour — Dismissal — Notice of Charges
An employee facing disciplinary action must be given advance notice of the specific charges to be answered; where the basis of the charges (an audit report) is neither tendered in evidence nor its author called as a witness, and the charges are not definitively stated, the employee cannot have been accorded sufficient opportunity to defend themselves.
Employment & Labour — Dismissal — Legal Representation
Legal representation is an important component of a fair hearing in disciplinary proceedings; failure to give an employee a chance to obtain legal representation contributes to the unfairness of the dismissal.
Employment & Labour — Disciplinary Procedures — Record Keeping
A disciplinary tribunal deciding the future of senior employees must keep proper records of its proceedings; where the record is too casually kept and cannot stand legal scrutiny, it undermines the fairness of the proceedings.
Employment & Labour — Remedies — Damages — Notice Period
A wrongfully dismissed employee cannot recover wages and benefits for any period beyond the requisite notice period; special damages must be proved specifically and are limited to the entitlement under the notice period.
Administrative Law — Natural Justice — Fair Hearing — Constitutional Right
Where an employer's terms of employment do not contain a laid down procedure for conducting disciplinary hearings, the principles of natural justice must fill the void and ensure compliance with the constitutional right to a fair hearing under article 42 of the Constitution.

Legislation cited (1)

Cases cited (12)

  • Kamurasi Charles v Accord Properties Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 3 of 1996)
  • Barnwell versus Attorney General of Guyana (1994) 3 LRC 30
  • Francis Muntu versus Kyambogo University
  • Re (H) K (An Infant) (1967) 1 All ER 226
  • De Souza versus Tanga Town Council (1961) EA 387
  • Uganda Wildlife Authority v Francis Mukama (Court of Appeal No. 78 of 2004)
  • Southern Highlands Tobacco versus Marqueen (1960) EA 490
  • Scott versus Simpson (1882) QBD 2003
  • Ratchiff versus Evans (1892) 2QB 524
  • Biwott versus Cay Ltd HCCS 1067/99 Kenya
  • Stroms versus Hutchinson (1950) AC 515
  • Bank of Uganda v Betty Tinkamanyire (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 12 of 2007)

Full judgment

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

Bazira and Another v McLeod Russell (HC CV CS NO. 0049 OF 2004) [2012] UGHC 432 (3 February 2012)
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.