Wakilii

Every Child Ministries v David Lubaale (Civil Suit No. 249 of 2009)

High Court · [2011] UGCOMMC 121 · 2011 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for recovery of money and injunction, heard ex parte after defendant's counsel failed to appear
Decision
Judgment entered for plaintiff with damages, injunction and costs awarded

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

Held that the plaintiff proved misappropriation by the defendant of funds entrusted to him for purchasing property and equipment for charitable projects. The court awarded only special damages specifically pleaded (US$40,000) in accordance with the principle that special damages must be pleaded and strictly proved. General damages of US$15,000 were awarded reflecting breach of trust. An injunction was granted protecting the plaintiff's possession of the office premises at Kyankima. Defendant's admissions in writing and forgery of bank statements established liability.

Outcome

Judgment entered for plaintiff with damages, injunction and costs awarded

Facts

The plaintiff, a US-based NGO working with African children, appointed the defendant as its national director for Uganda in 2006. Between 2007 and 2008, the plaintiff sent the defendant US$90,000 to purchase a minibus (US$30,000), office premises in Kampala (US$25,000), land for a poultry project (US$25,000) and office space in Gulu (US$10,000). The defendant purchased some properties but never bought the minibus. The plaintiff discovered the defendant had forged bank statements and misappropriated funds. In January 2009 the defendant confessed in writing to misallocation and deception, signed a promissory note to repay US$13,974, but only refunded US$2,100. His lawyers wrote acknowledging the debt and proposing settlement. The poultry project land was sold to another party and the Gulu property was in a gazetted wetland. The suit proceeded ex parte after the defendant's counsel failed to appear for hearing despite notice.

Issues

  1. Whether the defendant received US$90,000 from the plaintiff organisation.
  2. Whether the properties purchased by the defendant on behalf of the plaintiff are worth the agreed cost.
  3. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to recover the money which is the difference between the agreed cost and money received by the defendant.
  4. What remedies are available to the plaintiff.

Orders

  • Judgment entered for the plaintiff.
  • Defendant to pay the plaintiff US$40,000 as special damages.
  • Defendant to pay the plaintiff US$15,000 as general damages.
  • Injunction issued restraining the defendant, his agents, servants, assigns or anyone claiming through him from interfering with the plaintiff's quiet possession of the premises measuring 60' x 100' in Gayaza, Kasangati village, Kyankima zone LC 1 Wakiso district with one residential house and extensions.
  • Defendant to pay interest on the decreed amounts at the rate of 10% per annum from the date of judgment until full satisfaction.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Special Damages — Pleading Requirement — Must Be Specifically Pleaded and Strictly Proved
Special damages cannot be recovered unless specifically pleaded and strictly proved. Only damages expressly claimed in the plaint can be awarded, regardless of evidence proving entitlement to other amounts.
Ex Parte Proceedings — Circumstances for Proceeding Ex Parte Under Order 9 Rule 20
A court may proceed ex parte where the defendant's counsel has extracted and endorsed a hearing notice fixing the hearing date, was served with notice that the hearing would proceed, but failed to attend despite acknowledging the notice.
Written Admissions — Evidential Weight of Party's Written Confession and Promissory Note
A defendant's written confession acknowledging misappropriation of funds, coupled with a signed promissory note undertaking to repay specific amounts, constitutes strong evidence establishing liability without need for extensive proof.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty — Director's Misappropriation of Funds Held on Trust
Where a director receives funds specifically designated for purchasing assets on behalf of an organization, misappropriation of those funds and forgery of bank statements to conceal the misuse constitutes flagrant breach of fiduciary duty entitling the plaintiff to damages.
General Damages — Assessment in Cases of Breach of Trust
In assessing general damages for breach of trust involving charitable funds, the court considers the flagrant abuse of trust, the charitable purpose of the funds, failure to honour undertakings to refund, and the trouble caused to the plaintiff.

Legislation cited (1)

Cases cited (5)

  • Uganda Telecom Limited v Tanzanite Corporation [2005] 2 EA 331
  • Siree v Lake Turkana El Molo Lodges Ltd [2000] 2 EA 521
  • Sande v Kenya Co-operative Creameries Ltd [1992] LLR 314
  • Coast Bus Services Ltd v Danyi and others [1992] LLR 318
  • Eldama Ravine Distributors Ltd and another v Samson Kipruto Chebon civil appeal number 22 of 1991 (unreported)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Every Child Ministries v David Lubaale (Civil Suit No. 249 of 2009) [2011] UGCommC 121 (16 December 2011)
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.