Wakilii

Mugenyi T A Kifaru High Court Bailiffs & Auctioneers v Global Forwaders & Clearing Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 0053 of 2007)

Court of Appeal · [2020] UGCA 42 · 2020 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from a High Court (Commercial Division) judgment for the plaintiff
Decision
Appeal dismissed; High Court judgment for the respondent upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal dismissed the bailiff's appeal against a High Court award to the respondent company. The appellant claimed he had paid the disputed sum to the respondent's representative in the presence of an advocate, but produced no receipt or written acknowledgement. The Court held that the burden of proving payment lay on the appellant under section 103 of the Evidence Act, and the oral testimony of interested witnesses was insufficient to discharge the civil standard of proof on a balance of probabilities. The trial Judge was justified in treating the alleged payment as an afterthought first raised only after the respondent had sued, and the appeal failed with costs.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed; High Court judgment for the respondent upheld

Facts

The respondent company instituted a High Court suit against the appellant, a court bailiff, claiming Ug. Shs. 18,300,922/= as the balance of a decretal sum the bailiff had recovered from a judgment debtor on the respondent's behalf. The appellant claimed he had paid Ug. Shs. 2,225,922/= of the disputed money to the respondent's representative, Mr. Ernest Kamara, in the presence of the respondent's then advocate, Mr. Wycliff Birungi, but conceded there was no written acknowledgement or receipt. The respondent's plaint was filed on 15 April 2002, while the appellant first mentioned the alleged payment in an affidavit sworn on 20 September 2002 supporting an application for leave to appear and defend. The trial Judge decreed Ug. Shs. 2,225,922/= to the respondent, finding the alleged payment to be an afterthought and that the respondent had never received the amount. The appellant appealed against this award.

Issues

  1. Whether the learned trial Judge erred in law and fact in awarding the respondent Ug. Shs. 2,225,922/= against the weight of the evidence.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Decision of the trial Court upheld.
  • Costs of the appeal to the respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Evidence — Burden and Standard of Proof in Civil Cases — Proof of Payment
In civil cases the burden of proving a particular fact lies on the party asserting it; a party alleging payment must prove on a balance of probabilities that the payment was made, and where the evidence shows it was equally possible the payment was made as not made, the burden is not discharged.
Evidence — Proof of Payment — Sufficiency of Oral Testimony Absent a Receipt
Payment may be proved either by production of a receipt or by other evidence from which payment may be inferred; however, the oral testimony of witnesses with an interest in the matter, unsupported by any receipt or written acknowledgement, may be insufficient to discharge the civil standard of proof.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Duty of First Appellate Court
A first appellate court has a duty to reappraise the evidence and reconsider the materials before the trial judge, drawing its own inferences while bearing in mind that it did not see the witnesses testify, before making up its own mind on the appeal.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (2)

  • Muluuta Joseph v Silvano Katama (Civil Appeal No. 11 of 1999)
  • Kifamunte Henry v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 10 of 1997)

Full judgment

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

Mugenyi T A Kifaru High Court Bailiffs & Auctioneers v Global Forwaders & Clearing Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 0053 of 2007) [2020] UGCA 42 (7 February 2020)
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.