Wakilii

Lwanga v Administrator General & Anor (Civil Suit No 0086 of 2002)

High Court · [2002] UGHC 12 · 2002 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Garnishee proceedings to enforce payment of taxed costs from a prior dismissed suit
Decision
Garnishee order made absolute to compel Government payment under Administrator General's Act section 36

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that a garnishee order attaching the Administrator General's account does not force payment from that account but serves to compel the Government to pay under section 36 of the Administrator General's Act. The garnishee nisi was made absolute, preventing the Administrator General from operating the attached account until the debt is paid, thereby forcing him to obtain payment from Government consolidated funds.

Outcome

Garnishee order made absolute to compel Government payment under Administrator General's Act section 36

Facts

In 1993, the Administrator General sued on behalf of estate beneficiaries. The suit was dismissed under Order 15 rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Act, with costs taxed at UGX 4,977,000 against the Administrator General, which remained unpaid. The plaintiff brought garnishee proceedings against Uganda Commercial Bank where the Administrator General held an account. The garnishee nisi was granted. The Administrator General contended that his account was a trust account not subject to attachment and that costs should be paid from the estate or consolidated funds under section 36 of the Administrator General's Act.

Issues

  1. Whether a trust account held by the Administrator General with Uganda Commercial Bank is subject to attachment under a garnishee order.
  2. Whether costs awarded against the Administrator General should be paid from the estate or from consolidated funds under section 36 of the Administrator General's Act.

Orders

  • Garnishee nisi made absolute.
  • Administrator General barred from operating the account with Uganda Commercial Bank by withdrawing any money that would deplete it to the detriment of the applicant until payment of the debt.
  • Applicant awarded taxed costs of the application.

Rules and key headnotes

Garnishee Proceedings — Effect of Garnishee Order — Trust Accounts
A garnishee order does not create any security, charge or lien in favour of the attaching creditor, but operates as a prohibitory order preventing the garnishee from paying the attached debt to the judgment debtor.
Administrator General — Liability for Costs — Government Revenue
Under section 36 of the Administrator General's Act, the revenues of the Government are liable to make good sums required to discharge any liability which the Administrator General, if he were a private administrator, would be personally liable to discharge, except where reasonable diligence could not have averted the liability.
Garnishee Proceedings — Administrator General's Account — Purpose of Attachment
A garnishee nisi order attaching the Administrator General's bank account does not force payment from the attached account itself but serves to compel the Government to pay the judgment debt under section 36 of the Administrator General's Act by preventing the Administrator General from operating the account until the debt is discharged.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (1)

  • miscellaneous Application. No. 829 of 2001

Full judgment

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

Lwanga v Administrator General & Anor (Civil Suit No 0086 of 2002) [2002] UGHC 12 (28 August 2002)
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.