Wakilii

Kabera v Attorney General & Anor (HCT-00-CV-MA-0365 OF 2017)

High Court · [2017] UGHCCD 202 · 2017 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for order of mandamus to enforce judgment and decree obtained in HCCS No. 383 of 2014
Decision
Order of mandamus issued to compel payment of judgment debt and taxed costs

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court granted an order of mandamus compelling the Attorney General to pay a judgment debt of UGX 300,000,000 and taxed costs. The court found that the applicant established a clear legal right and corresponding duty, and that urgent payment was required due to the applicant's deteriorating health from a bullet injury. The court declined to award additional damages not decreed in the original judgment.

Outcome

Order of mandamus issued to compel payment of judgment debt and taxed costs

Facts

The applicant was a decree holder in HCCS No. 383 of 2014, having obtained judgment against the Attorney General for UGX 300,000,000 and taxed costs of UGX 29,767,007. Certificates of order against Government were issued on 12 April 2017 and 13 April 2017 respectively. The applicant had been shot by a stray bullet fired by servants of the government, resulting in a bullet lodged in his chest. His health was continuously deteriorating, he could no longer walk or support himself and his family, and he required urgent medical treatment. Despite demands for payment, the respondents had not paid. The Attorney General responded that it had written to the Ministry of Defence to settle the claim and argued the application was premature.

Issues

  1. Whether this is a proper case for the issue of an order of mandamus to compel the respondents to pay the judgment debt.

Orders

  • Application allowed.
  • A writ of mandamus issued to compel the respondents to perform their statutory duty to pay the applicant the sums due and owing as per the decree and certificates of order against Government.
  • Damages sought under section 38(2) of the Judicature (Amendment) Act 2002 refused as they were not decreed by court.
  • Applicant awarded taxed costs of the application.

Rules and key headnotes

Mandamus — Requirements for Grant — Clear Legal Right and Corresponding Duty
For an application for mandamus to succeed, the applicant must establish that a clear legal right exists and a corresponding duty in the respondent, that a particular officer enjoined with a legal duty to act has omitted to do so, and that the duty to perform the act is indisputable.
Mandamus — Alternative Remedy — Not a Bar Where Remedy is Ineffective
An application for mandamus may succeed even where an alternative remedy exists if that alternative remedy is inconvenient, less beneficial, less effective or totally ineffective.
Mandamus — Urgency of Circumstances — Effect on Grant of Relief
Where an applicant's life is in danger and urgent payment is required to save that life, the court may grant mandamus to accelerate payment even where the government has taken steps to process payment through ordinary administrative channels.
Mandamus — Scope of Relief — Cannot Enforce Disputed Rights
Mandamus cannot issue to enforce doubtful or disputed rights, and damages not decreed by the court in the original judgment cannot be awarded through a mandamus application.

Legislation cited (4)

Full judgment

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

Kabera v Attorney General & Anor (HCT-00-CV-MA-0365 OF 2017) [2017] UGHCCD 202 (15 August 2017)
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.