Wakilii

Bulenzi v U.C.B (Civil Suit 638 of 1993)

High Court · [1994] UGHC 68 · 1994 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for wrongful dismissal and damages
Decision
Judgment for plaintiff with damages of UGX 1,635 and costs

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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.

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

The dismissal of a bank manager was wrongful where it was effected by management rather than by the Board on the Managing Director's recommendation as required by the bank's personnel policies manual. The plaintiff was entitled to one month's salary in lieu of notice as damages, but not to compensation for injured feelings, loss of long service award (having served only 17 years when 20 were required), or special damages that were inadequately pleaded and proved.

Outcome

Judgment for plaintiff with damages of UGX 1,635 and costs

Facts

The plaintiff was employed by Uganda Commercial Bank (U.C.B) for 17 years, rising to senior manager. In April 1987, while hospitalised, customers deposited UGX 39.6 million in his Barclays account when U.C.B banking hours ran out. He issued a cheque and a bank draft was purchased through James Inyensiko. When the customers did not receive bicycles from Spring Valley Farm Ltd, Inyensiko stopped payment on the draft with the plaintiff's knowledge. The plaintiff, as Head of Department concerned with fraud, assisted in retrieving the stopped draft. Rogers Mukasa (proprietor of Spring Valley Farm and uncle of Chief Accountant Kato Ddungu) complained. The plaintiff was suspended, subjected to a disciplinary committee hearing without legal representation, and dismissed by letter dated 4 September 1987 signed by the General Manager Administration for misusing his position to stop the bank draft. His subsequent employment at Nile Bank was terminated for want of clearance from U.C.B.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiff's dismissal was wrongful.
  2. If so, what is the quantum of damages.

Orders

  • Judgment entered for the plaintiff for wrongful dismissal.
  • General damages of UGX 1,635 (being one month's salary after currency reform adjustment) awarded to the plaintiff.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the plaintiff.
  • Claims for injured feelings, long service award, and special damages dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Termination of Employment — Procedure — Compliance with Internal Regulations
Where an employee's terms and conditions of service are governed by personnel policies requiring Board approval on the Managing Director's recommendation for dismissal of officers at manager level and above, a dismissal effected by management alone without Board decision is wrongful regardless of the merits of the grounds for dismissal.
Employment Contracts — Termination Provisions — Notice Requirements
Where a contract of employment is not for a fixed term but contains a clause permitting termination by notice, the salary for the notice period constitutes the proper measure of compensation for wrongful dismissal.
Wrongful Dismissal — Measure of Damages — Notice Period
In wrongful dismissal cases where the contract provides for termination on notice, damages should be based on wages the employee would have received if valid notice had been given, not on salary until retirement age where no fixed term was agreed.
Wrongful Dismissal — Non-Recoverable Losses — Injured Feelings
Damages are not recoverable for injured feelings resulting from wrongful dismissal or for loss sustained from difficulty in securing fresh employment on account of having been dismissed.
Pleadings — Special Damages — Proof Requirements
Special damages must be specially pleaded and strictly proved. Where pleadings do not tally with the evidence adduced and there is variance between amounts pleaded and amounts testified to, the claim for special damages must fail.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Currency Reform Statute No. 2 of 1987

Cases cited (5)

  • Southern Highlands v Tobacco Union Ltd (1960) EA 490
  • Ombanya vs. Gailey and Roberts (19)54 322
  • Eletu v Uganda Airlines (1984) HCB 59
  • Addis v Gramophone Company [1909] AC 488
  • Kampala City Council v Nakaya (1972) EA 46

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Bulenzi v U.C.B (Civil Suit 638 of 1993) [1994] UGHC 68 (5 December 1994)
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.