Wakilii

Serumaga v Gold Mine Finacial Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 719 of 2018)

High Court · [2019] UGCOMMC 6 · 2019 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to set aside default judgment and for extension of time to file defence, arising from Civil Suit No. 256 of 2018
Decision
Application dismissed with costs; applicant's affidavit struck out

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Application dismissed. The court found that the applicant had been served with summons, had instructed advocates to file his defence, and was indeed a borrower under the Financing Agreement. The applicant's affidavit in support contained deliberate falsehoods, including denying he was a borrower despite signing the agreement in that capacity and denying instructing advocates despite evidence to the contrary. An affidavit containing obvious and deliberate falsehoods cannot support an application.

Outcome

Application dismissed with costs; applicant's affidavit struck out

Facts

Mwesigye Cornelius Ramprakas imported sugar into Uganda and obtained a loan from Goldmine Finance Limited to clear customs and storage fees. The Financing Agreement dated 4 December 2017 named three borrowers: Mwesigye, Maria Goreti, and Serumaga Ishaq (the applicant), who agreed to repay USD 56,000 within four weeks. When repayment was not made, the respondent filed Civil Suit No. 256 of 2018 seeking USD 73,320. The applicant later applied to set aside orders against him and for extension of time to file defence, claiming he was never served with summons, never instructed advocates, and was not a borrower but merely a witness to the agreement. The court found that the applicant had attended court proceedings arising from the suit, had instructed M/s Kajeke, Maguru & Co. Advocates who filed a written statement of defence on his behalf, and had signed the Financing Agreement as a borrower on each page.

Issues

  1. Whether the orders and decrees against the applicant in the underlying civil suit should be set aside.
  2. Whether the applicant was served with summons and instructed advocates to file his defence.
  3. Whether the applicant was a borrower under the Financing Agreement.
  4. Whether the applicant's affidavit containing falsehoods can support the application.

Orders

  • The application is dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the respondent.
  • The affidavit in support of the application is struck out for its falsity.

Rules and key headnotes

Evidence — Affidavit Evidence — Falsity in Affidavits — Effect of Deliberate Falsehoods
An affidavit containing obvious and deliberate falsehoods cannot support an application. A sworn affidavit is not a document to be treated lightly, and if it contains an obvious falsehood, it naturally becomes suspect and the application it supports is bound to fail.
Contract Law — Construction of Written Agreements — Signature as Party to Contract
Where a party signs a written agreement on each page in a particular capacity (such as 'borrower'), and the agreement expressly identifies that party as such throughout its terms, the party cannot later deny that capacity by claiming to have signed as a witness. The plain terms of the agreement govern.
Civil Procedure — Setting Aside Judgment — Requirement to Show Non-Service
An applicant seeking to set aside a judgment on grounds of non-service must demonstrate that he was not served and had no knowledge of the proceedings. Where an applicant attended court proceedings arising from the suit and instructed advocates who filed a defence, he cannot succeed in claiming he was never served or had no knowledge of the suit.
Civil Procedure — Advocates on Record — Authority and Binding Effect of Pleadings
Where advocates file a written statement of defence on behalf of a party, all averments and admissions in that defence bind the party. A party cannot subsequently disassociate himself from those averments without showing that the advocates acted without authority.

Cases cited (2)

  • Bitaitana v Kananura [1977] HCB 37
  • Jetha Brothers Ltd v Mbarara Municipal Council and 4 Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 31 of 2004)

Full judgment

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

Serumaga v Gold Mine Finacial Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 719 of 2018) [2019] UGCommC 6 (19 March 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.