Wakilii

Onama v Uganda Argus Limited (Civil Appeal No. 33 of 1968)

East African Court of Appeal · [1968] EACA 15 · 1968 Appeal Allowed (Majority) AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal from High Court judgment dismissing libel claim
Decision
Majority allowed the appeal and awarded damages; dissenting judgment would have dismissed the appeal

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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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

The Court of Appeal split 2-1. The majority (Duffus Ag. V-P. and de Lestang Ag. P.) held that the appellant was sufficiently identified as one of the persons defamed in the second report when read together with the first report, and allowed the appeal. Spry J.A. dissented, holding that the second report did not repeat the allegations in the first report and that the appellant was not identified in law as a person defamed. The majority awarded damages of Shs. 50,000.

Outcome

Majority allowed the appeal and awarded damages; dissenting judgment would have dismissed the appeal

Facts

On 4 February 1966, Mr. Ocheng MP made serious allegations in Parliament against the appellant (Minister of Defence) and others, claiming they had received Shs. 2.5 million from gold and ivory from the Congo. The appellant denied the allegations and challenged Mr. Ocheng to repeat them outside Parliament. Both the allegations and the challenge were reported in the Uganda Argus on 5 February 1966 (the first report). On 11 February 1966, Mr. Ocheng held a press conference, reported in the Uganda Argus on 12 February 1966 (the second report). In the second report, Mr. Ocheng stated he was responding to the Minister of Defence's challenge and alleged that Ugandan soldiers were killed in the Congo not for territorial defence but because "certain individuals" had personal interests in the conflict. The appellant sued for libel based solely on the second report. The High Court dismissed the claim, finding the appellant was not sufficiently identified. The appellant appealed.

Issues

  1. Whether the second newspaper report was capable of being defamatory of the appellant.
  2. Whether the appellant was sufficiently identified as one of the persons referred to in the second report.
  3. Whether the first report could be used to establish the identity of the appellant in the second report.
  4. Whether the allegations in the first report were expressly or impliedly repeated, approved or adopted in the second report.
  5. Whether the first report was privileged and the effect of such privilege on the libel claim.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed (majority decision).
  • Judgment of the High Court set aside.
  • Judgment entered for the appellant for damages of Shs. 50,000.
  • Costs of the appeal and trial awarded to the appellant.

Rules and key headnotes

Defamation — Identification of Plaintiff — Use of Extrinsic Evidence
In a libel action, where the allegedly defamatory publication does not name the plaintiff, extrinsic evidence including earlier publications may be used to establish that the plaintiff was the person referred to, provided the publication itself contains material that necessarily refers the reader back to the earlier publication.
Defamation — Identification — Two-Stage Test
The identification of a plaintiff in a defamation action involves two questions: first, as a matter of law, whether the article having regard to its language is capable of referring to the plaintiff; second, as a matter of fact, whether the article does in fact lead reasonable people who know the plaintiff to the conclusion that it refers to him. Unless the first question is answered in favour of the plaintiff, the second does not arise.
Defamation — Identification — Standard of Proof
It is not sufficient for a plaintiff to show that readers might wonder whether a publication refers to him or that it might refer to him. Readers who know the plaintiff must be able to say to themselves "This does refer to so-and-so" for identification to be established.
Defamation — Witness Evidence on Identification — Weight
Evidence by witnesses that they believed a publication referred to the plaintiff is admissible on the question of identification, but the court is not bound to accept such evidence. The test is whether, in the opinion of the court, a substantial number of persons who knew the plaintiff would believe the article related to him. Evidence influenced by public talk following earlier publications has diminished weight.
Defamation — Qualified Privilege — Onus of Proof
Where a defendant pleads qualified privilege in defence to a libel action, the onus is on the defendant to prove facts establishing qualified privilege, except that it is for the plaintiff to prove malice if alleged. The defendant cannot rely on the absence of evidence to the contrary where no evidence has been called to establish privilege.
Defamation — Linking Two Publications — Repetition or Adoption
Where a plaintiff relies on two publications to establish a libel, and one publication is privileged or not relied upon as the basis of the action, the second publication must either expressly or impliedly repeat, approve or adopt the defamatory allegations in the first publication for the two to be read together. A mere reference to the earlier publication or to the fact that a challenge was made is not sufficient to constitute repetition or adoption of the earlier allegations.

Legislation cited (1)

Cases cited (7)

  • Knupffer v London Express Newspaper Ltd (1944) AC 116
  • Astaire v Campling (1965) 3 All ER 666
  • Tolley v J S Fry & Sons Ltd (1931) AC 333
  • Holdsworth v Associated Newspapers Ltd (1937) 3 All ER 872
  • Jones v E Hulton & Co (1909) 2 KB 444
  • Jolowiak v Sadek (1954) 1 All ER 3
  • Bourke v Warren (172) ER 138

Full judgment

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

Onama v Uganda Argus Limited (Civil Appeal No. 33 of 1968) [1968] EACA 15 (1 January 1968)
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.