Wakilii

Okeny 4 Ors v Odok (Civil Suit No 12 of 2009)

High Court · [2019] UGHCCD 55 · 2019 Judgment for Plaintiffs AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for libel seeking general damages, exemplary damages, and permanent injunction
Decision
Judgment entered for the plaintiffs with damages, permanent injunction and costs against the defendant.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held that the defendant's letters to government officials accusing the plaintiffs of financial fraud and corruption were defamatory and published on occasions protected by qualified privilege. However, the privilege was defeated by actual malice because the defendant made serious accusations of criminal conduct and dishonesty without verifying the facts or having reasonable grounds for belief. The plaintiffs were awarded general damages totalling UGX 60,000,000, interest, and a permanent injunction restraining further defamatory publications.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the plaintiffs with damages, permanent injunction and costs against the defendant.

Facts

The defendant, Chairman of Pader District Local Government, wrote a series of letters between December 2007 and January 2009 to the Inspector General of Government, the Minister of Local Government, and other government officials. The letters accused the plaintiffs of diverting Universal Primary Education funds, securing contracts fraudulently, committing financial fraud, accumulating suspicious wealth, and in the case of the third plaintiff (an IGG employee), abusing his office and covering up for his company's misconduct. The letters identified the first four plaintiffs as shareholders and directors of the fifth plaintiff, Best Services Co. Limited, a construction company that had executed contracts with Pader District. The letters alleged that most UPE funds for 2002-2006 were diverted to this company and that it had atrociously defrauded the District. Copies of the letters were sent to multiple government officials and stakeholders. An article subsequently appeared in The New Vision Newspaper containing the allegations, though the plaintiffs could not prove the defendant directly leaked the letters to the press.

Issues

  1. Whether the letters complained of are defamatory of the plaintiffs.
  2. Whether the statements are privileged.
  3. Whether the statements complained of were published by the defendant to the press.
  4. Whether the statements were malicious.
  5. Whether the plaintiffs are entitled to the reliefs sought.

Orders

  • General damages of UGX 10,000,000 awarded to the first plaintiff Eng. Barnabas Okeny.
  • General damages of UGX 10,000,000 awarded to the second plaintiff Walter Okidi Ladwar.
  • General damages of UGX 25,000,000 awarded to the third plaintiff James Onying Penywii.
  • General damages of UGX 10,000,000 awarded to the fourth plaintiff David Okidi.
  • General damages of UGX 5,000,000 awarded to the fifth plaintiff Best Services Co. Limited.
  • Interest at 8% per annum on all sums from date of judgment until payment in full.
  • Permanent injunction restraining the defendant from further publication of defamatory material against any of the plaintiffs.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the plaintiffs.

Rules and key headnotes

Defamation — Libel — Elements of the Cause of Action
In a suit for libel, a plaintiff must plead and prove that the defendant made a false and defamatory statement concerning the plaintiff, made an unprivileged publication of that statement to a third party, and except where the libel is actionable per se, suffered special damages. The actual defamatory words must be set forth verbatim in the plaint and the persons to whom publication was made must be identified.
Defamation — Meaning of Defamatory Statement — Test
A statement is defamatory if it has a tendency to lower the plaintiff in the estimation of right-thinking members of society, to cause others to shun or avoid the plaintiff, or to expose the plaintiff to hatred, contempt and ridicule. The test is the general impression of the words on the right-thinking person, considering the words in their natural and ordinary meaning and reading the whole statement and not only parts of it.
Defamation — Publication — Unintentional Publication — Liability
A defendant is liable for unintentional publication of defamatory matter to a third party unless he can show that publication was not due to any want of care on his part. Publication occurs when the defendant deliberately communicates defamatory material to a third party or fails to do something required to prevent publication. Where the communication is the direct result of the defendant's act, the burden is upon him to show that the communication was not the result of his negligence.
Defamation — Publication — Novus Actus Interveniens
Where without fault on the part of the defendant an accidental publication of a libel to a third person is made by the wrongful act of a third party not reasonably foreseeable, the defendant is not liable. In a clear case of novus actus interveniens, the act that was not reasonably foreseeable breaks the chain of causation. Where defamatory material is intended only for specific addressees and is communicated to the press by an unknown third party without the defendant's knowledge or negligence, the defendant is not responsible for that publication.
Defamation — Defence of Qualified Privilege — Requirements
A communication is protected by qualified privilege where the person making it has a legal, social or moral duty to make it and the person receiving it has a corresponding interest or duty to receive it. This reciprocity is essential. Qualified privilege applies to statements made in discharge of a public or private duty, on a subject matter in which the defendant has a legitimate interest, and by way of complaint about those with public authority or responsibility.
Defamation — Qualified Privilege — Defeat by Malice — Burden of Proof
Once qualified privilege is established, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to prove express malice. Express malice means making use of a privileged occasion for an indirect or improper motive. It can be proved by showing the defendant did not honestly believe the allegations were true, was moved by hatred or desire to injure, or acted recklessly without caring whether the statements were true or false. Reckless publication of untrue defamatory matter without caring about truth constitutes evidence of malice.
Local Government Officials — Qualified Immunity — Conditions and Limits
Under the Local Governments Act section 173(a), members of local government councils enjoy qualified immunity from civil liability for acts done in good faith in execution of their duties. Like qualified privilege, this immunity is conditional and is defeated by actual malice. To establish good faith and reasonableness, the defendant must show reasonable grounds for believing the statements were true and that proper inquiries were made to verify the information. The immunity is forfeited by abuse of the official position or where the defendant was actuated by a wrong or indirect motive.

Legislation cited (3)

Cases cited (29)

  • Rutare S. Leonidas v Rudakubana Augustine and Kagame Eric William [1978] HCB 243
  • Karaka Sira v Tiromwe Adonia [1977] HCB 26
  • Ssejjoba Geoffrey v Rev. Rwabigonji Patrick [1977] HCB 37
  • Blaize Babigumira v Hanns Besigye (Civil Suit No. 744 of 1992)
  • Ssonko Gerald v Okech Tom [1978] HCB 36
  • Odongkara v Astles [1970] EA 377
  • Onama v Uganda Argus [1969] EA 92
  • Byrne v Deane [1937] 1 KB 818
  • Huth v Huth [1915] 3 KB 32
  • Weld-Blundell v Stephens [1920] AC 96
  • McNichol v Grandy [1931] SCR 696
  • Hogan v Bentinck Collieries [1949] 1 All ER 588
  • Adam v Ward [1917] AC 309
  • Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd [2001] 2 AC 127
  • Janoure v Delmege (1891) AC 73
  • Clark v Molyneux (1877) 3 QBD 237
  • Royal Aquarium and Summer and Winter Garden Society Ltd v Parkinson [1892] 1 QB 431
  • Watt v Longsdon [1930] 1 KB 130
  • Truth (NZ) Ltd v Holloway [1960] 1 WLR 997
  • Royal Brunei v Tan [1995] 2 AC 378
  • Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1997) 189 CLR 520
  • Webster v Lampard (1993) 177 CLR 598
  • Trobridge v Hardy (1955) 94 CLR 147
  • Roberts v Hopwood [1925] AC 578
  • Khasakhala v Aurali and Others [1995-98] 1 EA 112
  • Kanabi v. Chief Editor Ngabo Newspaper and others
  • David Kachontori Bashakara v Kirunda Mubarak (Civil Suit No. 62 of 2009)
  • Joseph Kimbowa Lutaaya v Francis Tumuheirwe (Civil Suit No. 862 of 2001)
  • Abu Bakr K. Mayanja v Tedi Seezi Cheeye and another (Civil Suit No. 261 of 1992)

Full judgment

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

Okeny 4 Ors v Odok (Civil Suit No 12 of 2009) 2019 UGHCCD 55 (28 February 2019)
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.