Wakilii

Nabaweesi Brenda v Centenary Rural Development Bank Limited (Civil Suit No. 665 of 2022)

High Court · [2025] UGCOMMC 248 · 2025 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for breach of tenancy agreement
Decision
Judgment entered for the plaintiff with damages for breach of tenancy agreement

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

Held that a tenant breaches a tenancy agreement when it fails to yield up the premises in good repair and condition at termination, as covenanted. Where the tenant removes fixtures and fittings causing damage to the premises, the tenant must make good all damage occasioned to the landlord's satisfaction. The court awarded special damages for repair costs actually incurred, excluding costs for pre-tenancy works, the unoccupied second floor, and external works which were the landlord's responsibility under the tenancy agreement. The court also awarded general damages for lost rental income during the period when the premises remained untenantable due to the tenant's breach.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the plaintiff with damages for breach of tenancy agreement

Facts

The plaintiff landlord entered into a series of tenancy agreements with the defendant bank, the last being dated 4 May 2017 for the second floor and additional space at UGX 12,000,000 monthly rent. The plaintiff renovated the second floor to meet the defendant's standards before handover. The defendant issued notice to terminate on 25 April 2018 effective 31 October 2018. Upon vacating, the defendant removed its fixtures and fittings, causing severe damage to walls, sockets, floors, and ceilings. A police forensic investigation confirmed extensive damage. The parties undertook joint cost analysis, agreeing on repair costs of UGX 72,800,000. The defendant sought permission to undertake repairs but the plaintiff declined, insisting on payment. The defendant sent the keys by courier on 22 January 2019 without repairing the premises. The plaintiff subsequently repaired the premises herself at a cost of UGX 72,800,000 and sued for special damages, lost rental income, and general damages.

Issues

  1. Whether the defendant breached the terms of the tenancy agreement during termination
  2. What remedies are available to the parties

Orders

  • The defendant breached the tenancy agreement.
  • The plaintiff is awarded UGX 49,730,000 in special damages.
  • Interest of 18% per annum is awarded on the special damages from the date of filing the suit till payment in full.
  • The plaintiff is awarded general damages of UGX 60,000,000.
  • Interest of 8% per annum is awarded on the general damages from the date of judgment till payment in full.
  • The plaintiff is awarded costs of the suit.

Rules and key headnotes

Contract Law — Tenancy Agreements — Breach — Obligations at Termination
A tenant breaches a tenancy agreement when it fails to yield up the premises in good repair and condition at the expiration or termination of the tenancy, fair wear and tear excepted, where such obligation is expressly covenanted in the agreement.
Contract Law — Tenancy Agreements — Tenant Fixtures — Removal and Making Good
Where a tenant is permitted to install fixtures, fittings and partitions for its business purposes, and no agreement is reached with the landlord for payment of the value of such fixtures upon termination, the tenant must remove such fixtures and make good to the satisfaction of the landlord all damage occasioned by fixing and removing the fixtures.
Contract Law — Variation — Waiver — Consensus Requirement
Subsequent negotiations between parties to a tenancy agreement do not constitute variation or modification of the terms of the agreement in the absence of consensus. The right to insist on strict adherence to contractual terms is not waived by negotiations alone without agreement.
Damages & Quantum — Special Damages — Pleading and Proof — Adjustment for Excluded Costs
Special damages must not only be strictly pleaded but also proved. Where costs for restoration are claimed but include expenses for areas not occupied by the tenant or for works that were the landlord's responsibility under the tenancy agreement, such costs must be excluded from the computation of special damages.
Damages & Quantum — General Damages — Assessment — Natural and Probable Consequences
General damages are awarded at the discretion of the court and are such damages as the law will presume to be the natural and probable consequence of the defendant's act or omission. In assessing quantum, courts are guided by the value of the subject matter, the economic inconvenience suffered, and the nature and extent of the breach or injury.
Damages & Quantum — General Damages — Lost Rental Income — Causation
Where a tenant's breach of a tenancy agreement results in delay in handing over premises in a tenantable condition, the landlord is entitled to general damages for lost rental income during the period when the premises could not be re-let as a natural consequence of the tenant's breach.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (6)

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.

Full judgment

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

Nabaweesi Brenda v Centenary Rural Development Bank Limited (Civil Suit No. 665 of 2022) [2025] UGCommC 248 (12 March 2025)
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.