Wakilii

Kigozi v Uganda Commercial Bank (Civil Suit 12 of 1996)

High Court · [1998] UGHCCD 2 · 1998 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for special and general damages for false imprisonment, assault, and loss of income
Decision
Judgment entered for the plaintiff with damages and costs awarded

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 1 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

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.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 1 time with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

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

The High Court held that a bank is vicariously liable for the tortious acts of CID officers seconded to its investigation office where the bank exercised control over their operations, provided resources, and directed the manner of work execution. The plaintiff was entitled to special damages for loss of income during the unlawful detention of his vehicle and general damages for false imprisonment and assault.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the plaintiff with damages and costs awarded

Facts

On 7 December 1994, the plaintiff purchased a Toyota Hiace minibus (registration 849 UAQ) from Rashid Sempa for UGX 11 million, paying UGX 9 million immediately. The vehicle operated as a taxi between Kampala and Hoima. On 17 January 1995, five men including John Bosco Ssemwogerere (a senior officer at the defendant bank arrested for embezzling UGX 12.56 million) impounded the vehicle and took it to the defendant's premises. The plaintiff was told the vehicle was connected to Ssemwogerere's alleged fraud. On 10 March 1995, when the plaintiff went to the bank's investigation office with documents proving ownership, he was arrested, detained for the entire day, and assaulted with a cable by Christopher Uchamgui, a CID officer seconded to the bank's investigation office. The vehicle was released on 3 May 1995 after nearly four months' detention. The plaintiff sued for special damages for loss of income and general damages for false imprisonment and assault.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiff has a cause of action against the defendant.
  2. If the plaintiff has a cause of action, what remedies are available to the plaintiff?

Orders

  • Judgment entered for the plaintiff.
  • Special damages of UGX 7,565,000 awarded.
  • General damages of UGX 3,000,000 awarded.
  • Interest at court rate awarded on special and general damages from the date of filing suit to date of payment in full.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Vicarious Liability — Liability for Seconded Officers
A bank is vicariously liable for the tortious acts of CID officers seconded to its investigation office where the bank exercises control over their operations, provides resources and office space, directs the manner of work execution, and requires prior authorization for key decisions.
Vicarious Liability — Master and Servant Relationship
The master-servant relationship transcends formal appointment or payment of remuneration and can exist where there is delegation to do something on the employer's behalf for joint benefit, or where the employer interferes with and directs the manner in which work is executed.
False Imprisonment — Unlawful Arrest and Detention
An arrest and detention without reasonable grounds or justifiable suspicion constitutes false imprisonment for which general damages are recoverable.
Assault — Damages for Physical Assault During Detention
A person who is assaulted while unlawfully detained is entitled to recover separate general damages for the assault in addition to damages for false imprisonment.
Special Damages — Proof of Loss of Income
Special damages for loss of income must be strictly proved, and where the evidence from a reliable witness differs from the calculations in the plaint, the court should accept the witness evidence rather than the pleaded figures.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (10)

  • Makerere University v Daudi Kasiringi (HCB 25 of 1977)
  • M'bin v Dyer [1967] EA 315
  • Muwonge v Attorney General [1967] EA 17
  • Nambi Kibirige v Attorney General (HCB 133 of 1990)
  • K Fivandas and Co Ltd v Nakadama (Civil Appeal No. 3 of 1973)
  • Simmons v Heath Laundry Company (1910) 1 KB 543
  • Bagnall v Levinstein Ltd (1907) 1 KB 531
  • Honeywell And Stein Ltd v Larkin Bros (London's Commercial Photographers) Ltd [1933] All ER 77
  • Burgess v Gray (1845) 1 CB 578
  • Hardaker v Idle District Council (2 QB 72)

Cases citing this judgment (1)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

  • [2026] UGHCCD 175

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Kigozi v Uganda Commercial Bank (Civil Suit 12 of 1996) [1998] UGHCCD 2 (23 October 1998)
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.