Wakilii

Serubiri(suing through his next friend Katende) v Umeme Limited (HC Civil Suit 469 of 2017)

High Court · [2023] UGHCCD 369 · 2023 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for negligence arising from electrocution by electricity distribution wires
Decision
Defendant found liable for negligence; judgment entered for plaintiff with general damages of UGX 500,000,000 plus interest and costs

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 an electricity distributor owes a duty of care to ensure its distribution infrastructure does not cause harm to the public. Where the defendant failed to regularly inspect and maintain an electricity pole that subsequently fell causing a minor plaintiff to be electrocuted and lose his left arm, the defendant was found negligent and liable for general damages of UGX 500,000,000.

Outcome

Defendant found liable for negligence; judgment entered for plaintiff with general damages of UGX 500,000,000 plus interest and costs

Facts

On 6 May 2017, the plaintiff, a seven-year-old minor, was electrocuted at his family home in Kasange Ward, Kyengera Town Council, Wakiso District when a rotten electricity pole managed by the defendant fell, causing a live electricity wire to come into contact with him. The plaintiff suffered severe electrical burns resulting in the amputation of his left dominant arm at the shoulder and head injuries. Residents had allegedly complained to the defendant about the rotten pole two weeks before it fell. The defendant's last inspection of the pole was in December 2016, five months before the incident. The defendant's internal inquiry report indicated that brick-laying activities near the pole and vandalism of stay wires contributed to the pole's fall. The plaintiff sued through his next friend for negligence, claiming special, general and exemplary damages.

Issues

  1. Whether the Defendant was negligent.
  2. What remedies are available to the parties.

Orders

  • The Defendant is hereby ordered to pay the Plaintiff general damages of UGX 500,000,000.
  • The general damages will attract interest of 15% per annum from the date of judgement till payment in full.
  • The Defendant is ordered to pay the Plaintiff the costs of this suit.
  • The costs shall attract interest of 6% per annum from the date it is taxed till payment in full.

Rules and key headnotes

Tort Law — Negligence — Duty of Care — Electricity Distributors
An electricity distributor owes a duty of care to members of the public to ensure that it does not leave live electricity distribution wires loose or in a position where they are likely to come into contact with persons and cause injury, given the foreseeability of serious harm or death from contact with live wires.
Tort Law — Negligence — Breach of Duty — Standard of Care
A breach of duty of care occurs when a party who owes another a duty of care does something or fails to do something which it could reasonably foresee would be likely to injure the other party, and where the conduct falls below the standard of care likely to be taken by a reasonable person having regard to all the circumstances of the case.
Tort Law — Negligence — Breach of Duty — Regular Inspection and Maintenance
An electricity distributor who fails to carry out regular maintenance and inspection of its distribution infrastructure, and fails to discover and address a deteriorating pole over a reasonable period of time during which visible evidence of danger existed, breaches its duty of care to the public.
Evidence — Burden and Standard of Proof — Civil Cases
In civil matters, the burden of proof lies upon the person who asserts or alleges, and the standard of proof is on the balance of probabilities: if the evidence is such that the tribunal can say it is more probable than not, the burden is discharged, but if the probabilities are equal, it is not.
Tort Law — Damages — Special Damages — Proof
Special damages, being the actual or reasonably apprehended financial losses, must be specifically pleaded and proved. Where a plaintiff fails to adduce credible evidence establishing the quantum of special damages claimed, the claim will be denied even if the need for the expense is established.
Tort Law — Damages — General Damages — Assessment
General damages are a monetary recovery for injuries such as pain, suffering, and inability to perform certain functions for which there is no exact calculable value. The assessment must take into account both physical injuries suffered and the ongoing mental distress and permanent disability that will affect the plaintiff for the rest of his or her life.
Tort Law — Damages — Exemplary/Punitive Damages — Conditions for Award
Exemplary or punitive damages are awarded when the defendant's wilful acts were malicious, violent, oppressive, fraudulent, wanton or grossly reckless. The rationale is not to enrich the plaintiff but to punish the defendant and deter similar conduct. Such damages will not be awarded in the absence of evidence supporting a finding of such conduct.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (9)

  • Sebuliba v Co-operative Bank (1982) HCB 129
  • Miller v Minister of Pensions [1947] 2 All ER 372
  • Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562
  • Uganda Telecom Ltd v Tanzanite Corporation [2005] 2 EA 341
  • Bagenda Dyabe Tommy v Pioneer Easy Bus Limited (HCCS No. 36 of 2016)
  • Dorothy Tuma v Elizabeth Muller & Anor (CS No. 229 of 2011)
  • Obongo v Municipal Council of Kisumu [1971] EA 91
  • O'Connor v Hewston [1979] Crim LR 46 (CA)
  • Archer Brown [1985] QB 401

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.

Serubiri(suing through his next friend Katende) v Umeme Limited (HC Civil Suit 469 of 2017) [2023] UGHCCD 369 (6 September 2023)
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.