Wakilii

Bisangwa Kasimba Josephat and Another v Diamond Trust Bank (U) Limited and Another (Miscellaneous Application 445 of 2022)

High Court · [2026] UGCOMMC 118 · 2026 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to amend plaint arising from Civil Suit No. 429 of 2019
Decision
Application to amend plaint granted; matter to proceed on amended pleadings

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 2 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 2 times with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

Held that the application to amend the plaint was not res judicata. A default judgment varied by consent does not constitute a final determination on the merits. The matters in dispute in the two suits were distinct: the former suit concerned loan recovery while the present suit alleged breach of fiduciary and statutory duties not pleaded or determined in the former suit. The applicants satisfied the Gaso Transport principles for amendment: the amendment would not occasion injustice compensable only by costs, served the interests of justice, was made in good faith, and was not prohibited by law. Application allowed.

Outcome

Application to amend plaint granted; matter to proceed on amended pleadings

Facts

The Applicants filed Civil Suit No. 429 of 2019 against the Respondents alleging breach of statutory duties under the Mortgage Act and seeking declarations that they were not indebted to the Bank. Before the application to amend could be heard, the 1st Respondent filed Civil Suit No. 1005 of 2023 for recovery of a loan facility, which resulted in a default judgment later varied by consent. The Applicants then sought leave to amend their plaint in the original suit after obtaining bank and loan account statements in January 2022 that revealed alleged illegal transactions. The Respondents raised a preliminary objection that the application was res judicata.

Issues

  1. Whether the application is res judicata by reason of Civil Suit No. 1005 of 2023.
  2. Whether the Applicants have sufficient grounds for the orders sought.
  3. What remedies are available to the parties.

Orders

  • Preliminary objection dismissed.
  • Application allowed.
  • The amended plaint be served upon the Respondents within 10 days from the date of this order.
  • The Respondents shall file an amended defence within 15 days from the date of service.
  • Costs shall be in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Res Judicata — Default Judgment Varied by Consent — Whether Final Determination on Merits
A default judgment entered against a defendant and subsequently varied by consent does not amount to a final determination on the merits of the issues in controversy between the parties for purposes of the doctrine of res judicata.
Res Judicata — Matter Directly and Substantially in Issue — Distinct Causes of Action
Where a former suit concerned recovery of a loan facility and the subsequent suit alleges breach of fiduciary and statutory duties that were neither pleaded nor determined in the former suit, the matters in dispute are not directly and substantially the same and the doctrine of res judicata does not apply.
Amendment of Pleadings — Principles Governing Exercise of Discretion
An amendment to pleadings should be allowed where: (1) it does not occasion injustice to the opposite party that cannot be compensated by costs; (2) it is in the interests of justice and avoids multiplicity of suits; (3) it is made in good faith; and (4) it is not expressly or impliedly prohibited by law.
Amendment of Pleadings — Discovery of New Facts After Commencement
Where a party discovers new facts after commencement of proceedings that give rise to additional claims arising from the same transaction, an amendment to include those claims should be granted to ensure all matters in controversy between the parties are completely and finally determined and to avoid multiplicity of suits.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (4)

Cases citing this judgment (2)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Bisangwa Kasimba Josephat and Another v Diamond Trust Bank (U) Limited and Another (Miscellaneous Application 445 of 2022) [2026] UGCommC 118 (24 March 2026)
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.