Wakilii

Kasekende v Umeme Limited (Civil Suit No. 0947 of 2005)

High Court · [2013] UGHC 268 · 2013 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for breach of employment contract and wrongful dismissal
Decision
Judgment entered for the plaintiff; plaintiff declared wrongfully dismissed and awarded general damages, statutory entitlements, interest, and costs

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that an employee's dismissal was wrongful where the employer's disciplinary committee convicted him of charges not formally notified to him beforehand and denied him the opportunity to cross-examine his accusers, thereby breaching the audi alteram partem rule and the constitutional right to a fair hearing. The court awarded general damages for wrongful dismissal but declined special damages where loss of salary was not strictly proved. The employee remained entitled to statutory and contractual payments including repatriation allowance, payment in lieu of notice, and accrued benefits.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the plaintiff; plaintiff declared wrongfully dismissed and awarded general damages, statutory entitlements, interest, and costs

Facts

The plaintiff was employed by the defendant company as Principal Accountant in the Revenue and Treasury Management section from 10 February 2005. On 9 August 2005, he received a memo from the Finance Manager alleging grave misuse of company motor vehicle No. UAA 365E, specifically that he had travelled to Gulu using the vehicle while claiming mileage allowance and had used the vehicle for personal purposes outside office hours. The plaintiff denied the charges and explained that the vehicle was at Victoria Motors garage during the period in question. He was invited to a disciplinary hearing on 1 September 2005. The Disciplinary Committee conducted further investigations and held a second hearing on 19 September 2005. On 22 September 2005, management offered the plaintiff the option to resign or be dismissed. He refused to resign, maintaining his innocence. On 28 September 2005, his employment was terminated. During the disciplinary proceedings, the charges were expanded beyond the original allegations to include failure to carry out instructions to report to Gulu and Lira on scheduled dates and failure to return unutilized mileage allowance. The plaintiff was not given prior notice of these additional charges before the hearing.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiff's termination was lawful.
  2. What remedies are available to the parties.

Orders

  • A declaration that the plaintiff was wrongly terminated from employment.
  • Shs.10,000,000/= (Ten million only) awarded as general damages.
  • A declaration that the plaintiff is entitled to payment of cash in lieu of one month notice, repatriation allowance, and salary including the benefits that accrued at the time the plaintiff was on suspension.
  • Interest on general damages at the rate of 25% per annum from the date of judgment until payment in full.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Employment & Labour — Disciplinary Proceedings — Right to Fair Hearing — Audi Alteram Partem
An employee cannot be lawfully dismissed on charges that were not formally notified to him before the disciplinary hearing, as this violates the audi alteram partem principle and denies the employee sufficient opportunity to prepare and answer the charges effectively.
Constitutional Law — Right to Fair Hearing — Article 42 Constitution — Administrative Bodies
The right to a fair hearing enshrined in Article 42 of the Constitution applies to administrative bodies and tribunals conducting disciplinary proceedings, and any decision reached in contravention of this right is a nullity.
Administrative Law — Natural Justice — Cross-Examination — Right to Test Evidence
No evidence affecting a party is admissible against that party unless the latter has had an opportunity of testing its truthfulness by cross-examination; denial of the right to cross-examine accusers is prejudicial and denies the right to a fair hearing.
Employment & Labour — Damages for Wrongful Dismissal — Special Damages — Strict Proof
Special damages must be strictly proved and cannot be awarded where they are merely speculative; loss of salary claims must be substantiated with clear evidence of the actual amounts lost and the period of loss.
Employment & Labour — Wrongful Dismissal — Statutory Entitlements — Payment in Lieu of Notice
A wrongfully dismissed employee remains entitled to recover statutory and contractual payments including repatriation allowance, salary for the period on suspension, and payment in lieu of notice, regardless of whether the employee accepts such payments at the time of termination.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (5)

  • Juma & others v Attorney General (2003) EA 461
  • Robert Coussens v Attorney General (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 8 of 1999)
  • Semukima v John Kaddu [1976] HCB 13
  • John Eletu v Uganda Airlines (1984) HCB 39
  • Tommy Otto v Uganda Wildlife Authority (High Court Civil Suit No. 208 of 2002)

Full judgment

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

Kasekende v Umeme Limited (Civil Suit No. 0947 of 2005) [2013] UGHC 268 (31 October 2013)
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.