Masaka Municipal Council v Semogerere (Civil Appeal 20 of 1999)

Observed later treatment

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

The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge's award of shs.12,700,000/= described as 'accrued emoluments' was in reality an award of special damages. Special damages must be specifically pleaded and strictly proved. The respondent's plaint claimed only general damages and a declaration; it did not specifically quantify or plead special damages. Evidence given by the Town Clerk did not cure the failure to plead, as the appellant had no opportunity to challenge figures outside the pleadings, and the manner of calculation showed no strict proof. Applying Kampala City Council v Nakaye, unpleaded special damages cannot be awarded even if proved. The appeal was allowed and the award set aside.

Outcome

Appeal allowed; award of special damages of shs.12,700,000/= set aside

Facts

The respondent, a former Mayor of Masaka Municipal Council, was elected Mayor in 1996. While in office he was charged, convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. He appealed the conviction on 24 February 1997, but before the appeal was determined he was suspended from office and the Council resolved to appoint an Acting Mayor, effectively removing him. He was later acquitted. He sued the Council in the High Court for general damages for wrongful removal and a declaration that he remained the rightful Mayor. The High Court found the removal wrongful and awarded shs.100,000/= for wrongful dismissal, shs.12,700,000/= for accrued emoluments, plus costs and interest. On appeal, the first ground was abandoned. The remaining ground concerned the emoluments award. The plaint had pleaded only general damages and a declaration, alluding to accrued emoluments only in the prayer without quantification.

Issues

1. Whether the trial judge erred in awarding the respondent shs.12,700,000/= as accrued emoluments when this constituted special damages that were neither pleaded nor strictly proved.

Orders

• Appeal allowed.
• Order for payment of special damages of shs.12,700,000/= set aside.
• Costs of the appeal awarded to the appellant.

Rules and key headnotes

Cases cited (3)

• Ratcliffe v Evans [1872] 2 QB 524
• Mussa Hassan v Hunt and Another [1954] EA 201
• Kampala City Council v Nakaye [1972] EA 446

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.

• Rwenzori Investment Ltd. v N.P.A.R.T. (Miscellaneous Civil Application 43 97)

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