Kamwenge District Local Government Council v Kabasa (HCT – CV – MA – NO. 042 OF 2016)

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.

Holding

A garnishee order nisi was set aside where the decree attached to it contained a breakdown of employment arrears that was never part of the original ruling and had not been approved by the judgment debtor as required under Order 21 Rule 7(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules. The court held that a decree must be extracted jointly with the approval of the opposite party and that attaching incorrect amounts constituted an illegality which the court cannot sanction. Each party was ordered to bear its own costs given the employer-employee relationship.

Outcome

Garnishee order nisi set aside; respondent directed to extract decree with applicant's approval showing correct arrears breakdown

Facts

The respondent, a district employee, had been interdicted but the interdiction was later lifted. He sued the applicant district council in HCT-MA No. 014 of 2011 challenging the interdiction. The court ordered payment of his arrears. When no payment was made, the respondent obtained an exparte garnishee order nisi attaching the applicant's bank account. The applicant sought to set aside the garnishee order, arguing the decree attached to it contained a breakdown of arrears that was never part of the original ruling and had not been approved by the applicant as required under Order 21 Rule 7(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules. The applicant also argued the garnishee proceedings were instituted by an incompetent person and that the incorrect amounts attached constituted an illegality.

Issues

1. Whether the present application is a proper case for setting aside the exparte orders?
2. Whether the present application is proper case for the grant of orders for stay of execution, vacation of the previous execution orders and restitution orders?
3. What are the remedies available to the parties?

Orders

• The exparte garnishee orders are set aside.
• The Respondent is ordered to extract a true summary of the Court ruling with the approval or input of the Applicant.
• The Respondent is ordered to file the true breakdown of the arrears owed to him.
• Each party is to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Legislation cited (21)

• Civil Procedure Act s.98
• Civil Procedure Act s.34(1)
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 9 Rule 2
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 9 Rule 27
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 21 Rule 7(1)
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 21 Rule 7(2)
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 21 Rule 7(3)
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 21 Rule 7(4)
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 22 Rule 19
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 22 Rule 23(1)
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 22 Rule 23(2)
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 22 Rule 23(3)
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 23 Rule 1(1)
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 52 Rule 1
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 52 Rule 2
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 3 Rule 2(a)
• Advocates Act s.6
• Advocates Act s.7
• Advocates Act s.12(1)(i)
• Advocates (Amendment) Act s.14A
• Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995 Article 126(2)(e)

Cases cited (7)

• Enid Tumwebaze v Mpeirirwe Steven and Another (HCT-CA No. 0039 of 2010)
• Milly Masembe v Sugar Corporate and Another (Court of Appeal Civil Reference No. 2 of 2003)
• Sulaiman Nsambu v Fred Balinda (HCB 102/98)
• Fr. Francis Payers versus Josephat Kawalya Mwebe and Others versus Kampala Bus Service (1966) E.A 480
• Kampala Capital City Authority and Stanbic Bank U Ltd and DFCU v John Mugisha & 3 Others (High Court Miscellaneous Appeal No. 290 of 2012)
• Attorney General v Mark Kamoga (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 8 of 2004)
• Rita Natayi v Ali Sekanjako (High Court Miscellaneous Appeal No. 333 of 2014)

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