Wakilii

Board of governors Rwenzori Collage of Commerce v Muliwabyo (Miscellaneous Application No. 83 of 2021)

High Court · [2023] UGHCCD 48 · 2023 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for unconditional leave to appear and defend arising from summary suit
Decision
Applicant granted unconditional leave to appear and defend the main suit

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the applicant demonstrated bona fide triable issues warranting leave to appear and defend. The dispute over whether payments made related to the transaction in question, and whether the respondent improperly filled in a blank cheque, raised genuine questions of fact requiring trial. Leave to appear and defend was granted under Order 36 rule 4 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Outcome

Applicant granted unconditional leave to appear and defend the main suit

Facts

The applicant, an educational institution, applied for leave to appear and defend a summary suit. The respondent claimed the applicant owed UGX 60,000,000 based on a cheque. The applicant contended it borrowed only UGX 5,000,000 at 15% monthly interest in May 2020, issued a blank signed cheque as security, and fully repaid the loan through instalments totalling UGX 8,100,000 between November 2020 and April 2021. The applicant alleged the respondent improperly filled in the blank cheque with UGX 60,000,000. The respondent countered that the payments related to a different transaction from March 2020, and that the cheque for UGX 60,000,000 represented a separate loan advanced in February 2021. The cheque bounced in August 2021 for insufficient funds.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant should be granted leave to appear and defend Civil Suit No. 83 of 2021.

Orders

  • Application allowed.
  • Applicant granted leave to appear and defend.
  • Applicant to file and serve Written Statement of Defense within 10 days from date of ruling.
  • Respondent to file reply to Written Statement of Defense if any within 5 days after service.
  • Costs of the application awarded to the Applicant in the event.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Summary Suits — Leave to Appear and Defend — Test for Grant
Before leave to appear and defend is granted, the applicant must show by affidavit or otherwise that there is a bona fide triable issue of fact or law, and the applicant is not bound to show a good defence on the merits but must satisfy the court that there is an issue or question in dispute which ought to be tried.
Civil Procedure — Summary Suits — Leave to Appear and Defend — Disclosure Requirements
An applicant for leave to appear and defend must disclose the nature of the claim against the respondent or objections to the respondent's claims, which may be founded on law or fact or a mixture of both, which are bona fide and merit serious judicial consideration during trial, and this must be ascertainable from the pleadings and annexures without going into the merits of the case.
Civil Procedure — Summary Suits — Leave to Appear and Defend — Disputed Payments and Blank Cheques
Where an applicant contends that payments made fully discharged a loan and that a respondent improperly filled in a blank cheque with an inflated amount, and the respondent contends the payments related to a different transaction, bona fide triable issues arise warranting the grant of leave to appear and defend.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (7)

  • Bunjo v KCB (Uganda) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 174 of 2014)
  • Roko Construction Ltd Vs. of 2020
  • M.M.K Engineering v Mantrust Uganda Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 128 of 2012)
  • Bhaker Kotecha v Adam Muhammed [2002] 1 EA 112
  • Maluku Interglobal Trade Agency v Bank of Uganda [1985] HCB 65
  • Children of Africa v Sarick Construction Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 134 of 2016)
  • Magric Water General Hardware Ltd v Abasi Balinda Transporters Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 67 of 2021)

Full judgment

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

Board of governors Rwenzori Collage of Commerce v Muliwabyo (Miscellaneous Application No. 83 of 2021) [2023] UGHCCD 48 (23 January 2023)
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.