Wakilii

Katetegirwe v Attorney General and Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 169 of 2020)

High Court · [2022] UGHCCD 66 · 2022 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review and mandamus arising from execution proceedings to enforce a consent judgment
Decision
Application for mandamus dismissed; Respondents found to have fully satisfied their obligations under the consent judgment with an overpayment

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that only the specific sum of UGX 1,180,773,616 was waived under the consent order, not 50% of all interest. Interest must be calculated on the total outstanding sum (principal plus accrued interest) at each payment date, applying the principle of restitutio in integrum. The court found that the Respondents had fully paid the decretal sum and all accrued interest by 22 July 2019, with an overpayment of UGX 1,845,124,038. The application for mandamus was dismissed.

Outcome

Application for mandamus dismissed; Respondents found to have fully satisfied their obligations under the consent judgment with an overpayment

Facts

In 2015, the Applicant sued the Government for compensation for expropriation of his ranch. A consent judgment was entered on 18 August 2015 ordering payment of UGX 11,666,382,000 plus taxed costs of UGX 141,354,167 with interest at 10% per annum until payment in full. On 28 October 2016, a consent order set payment terms: interest of UGX 1,180,773,616 was waived, and the balance was to be paid within three years commencing January 2017. The Respondents made instalment payments from February 2017 to October 2019 totalling UGX 15,534,615,605. The Applicant, aged 92, claimed UGX 2,652,200,372 remained outstanding as at 9 March 2020 and sought mandamus to compel payment. The Respondents contended they had fully paid the decretal sum and that all future interest was frozen under the agreement.

Issues

  1. Whether 50% of the entire interest as agreed and awarded in the consent judgment and decree was waived by the Applicant?
  2. Whether the calculation of the interest agreed and awarded in the consent judgment and decree was at flat rate basis or not?
  3. Whether the amount outstanding and due from the Respondents to the Applicant after off-setting all instalment payments as at 9th March 2020 is UGX 2,652,200,372?
  4. Whether an Order of Mandamus should issue against the Respondents?

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the Respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Consent Orders — Interpretation — Oral Evidence Cannot Vary Written Terms
Oral evidence cannot be invoked to vary or contradict the written and express terms of a consent order. Where a consent order specifies a particular amount of interest waived, it cannot be imputed that the order intended to waive any other sum or percentage of interest not expressly stated.
Consent Orders — Execution Orders Distinguished from Variation Orders
A consent order made during execution proceedings for the purpose of setting out terms of payment does not vary or replace the terms of the underlying consent judgment and decree. Where the original decree is silent on payment terms, a subsequent consent order addressing payment schedules does not supersede the substantive terms of the decree.
Interest — Calculation on Instalment Payments — Restitutio in Integrum
Where a decretal sum is paid by instalments, interest must be calculated on the total outstanding sum at the time each payment is made, comprising both the principal and accrued interest to that date. This approach reflects the principle of restitutio in integrum, compensating the judgment creditor for continued deprivation of both principal and accrued interest. Part payment reduces the total outstanding amount, which then continues to attract interest on the reduced balance.
Interest — Nature and Purpose — Compensation for Deprivation
Interest on money is compensation paid for deprivation of the use of money. It represents either the profit the creditor might have made if he had use of the money, or the loss suffered because he did not have that use. The award of interest falls under the doctrine of restitutio in integrum and is intended to reflect the cost to the plaintiff of being deprived of money which he should have had, not to punish the defendant.
Interest — Principal and Accrued Interest Cannot Be Separated in Instalment Payments
Where payment of decretal sums is effected by instalment, it is not possible to separate the principal from accrued interest. Accrued interest becomes property of the judgment creditor and, owing to its continued deprivation, remains money in the hands of the judgment debtor. On account of the principle of restitutio in integrum, the judgment creditor must be compensated for that continued loss.
Mandamus — Conditions for Grant — Clear Right and Corresponding Duty
For an order of mandamus to issue, the applicant must establish: (a) existence of a clear right on the part of the applicant and a corresponding duty on the part of the respondent; (b) that some specific act or thing which the law requires a particular officer to do has been omitted; and (c) lack of any alternative remedy, or where an alternative exists, it is inconvenient, less beneficial, less effective or totally ineffective. Where no sum is due and payable, no basis exists for mandamus.

Legislation cited (1)

Cases cited (9)

  • Yousuf Abdulla GulamHussein v French Somaliland Shipping Co Ltd [1959] EA 25
  • Lwanga v Centenary Rural Development Bank [1999] 1 EA 175
  • Shah v. Guilders International Ltd
  • Riches v Westminster Bank [1947] AC 390
  • Jefford v Gee [1970] 1 All ER 1202
  • Esero Kasule v Attorney General (Miscellaneous Application No. 688 of 2014)
  • Tate & Lyle Food and Distribution Ltd v Greater London Council [1981] 3 All ER 716
  • Combined Services Ltd v Attorney General and Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 648 of 2015)
  • Goodman Agencies Ltd and 3 Others v Attorney General and Treasury Officer of Accounts (Miscellaneous Application No. 126 of 2008)

Full judgment

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

Katetegirwe v Attorney General and Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 169 of 2020) [2022] UGHCCD 66 (21 April 2022)
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.