Wakilii

Tweheyo v Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) (Miscellaneous Application 143 of 2024)

Industrial Court · [2025] UGIC 27 · 2025 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to set aside conditional order of stay of execution arising from Labour Dispute Reference No. 337 of 2017
Decision
Application to set aside stay of execution dismissed; stay remains in effect subject to correction of guarantee address

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that a bank guarantee addressed to the Registrar of the High Court rather than the Registrar of the Industrial Court was a non-fatal misnomer. The intention to comply with the conditional stay order was clear from the guarantee's contents, which correctly referenced the case number and decretal sum. Applying the principle that courts should not allow parties to take advantage of misnomers when the intention is clear, and prioritising substantive justice over technicalities under Article 126(2)(e) of the Constitution, the court dismissed the application to set aside the stay, provided the Respondent rectified the address on the guarantee within five business days.

Outcome

Application to set aside stay of execution dismissed; stay remains in effect subject to correction of guarantee address

Facts

The Applicant was awarded UGX 64,490,000 with interest in Labour Dispute Reference No. 337 of 2017. When he applied for execution, the Respondent applied for a stay of execution. By consent order dated 14 September 2022, a conditional stay was granted requiring the Respondent to provide a bank guarantee for the decretal sum. The Respondent obtained a payment guarantee dated 21 September 2022 for the correct amount and referencing the correct case number, but it was addressed to the Registrar of the High Court of Uganda rather than the Registrar of the Industrial Court. The guarantee was filed with the Industrial Court on 3 October 2022 and renewed on 20 March 2025. The Applicant then applied to set aside the stay, arguing the Respondent had not met the conditions because the guarantee was incorrectly addressed.

Issues

  1. Whether the Respondent complied with the conditional order of stay of execution by providing a bank guarantee.
  2. Whether a bank guarantee addressed to the Registrar of the High Court instead of the Registrar of the Industrial Court constitutes non-compliance with the stay order.
  3. Whether the misaddressing of the guarantee is a fatal defect or a misnomer that can be rectified.

Orders

  • The Respondent shall cause the payment guarantee dated 20th March 2025 to be replaced with a payment guarantee in the same terms addressed to the Registrar, Industrial Court of Uganda within five business days.
  • The application is dismissed.
  • Each party shall bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Conditional Stay — Compliance with Conditions
Where a conditional order of stay requires a bank guarantee and the guarantee provided contains the correct amount, references the correct case number, and is filed with the correct court, but is addressed to the wrong registrar, this constitutes substantial compliance with the stay order and the misaddressing is a non-fatal misnomer that can be rectified.
Civil Procedure — Misnomer — Test for Determining Misnomer
The test for determining whether an incorrect naming constitutes a misnomer is whether a reasonable person receiving the document would say 'Of course it must mean me, but they have got my name wrong.' Where the intention is clear from the document as a whole and the circumstances, courts will not allow parties to take advantage of the misnomer.
Civil Procedure — Substantive Justice — Article 126(2)(e) of the Constitution
Article 126(2)(e) of the Constitution requires courts to prioritise substantive justice over technicalities. Where a party has substantially complied with a court order and the intention is clear, technical defects such as misaddressing should not defeat the substantive rights of the parties.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (6)

  • Attorney General v Kamoga (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 8 of 2004)
  • East Africa Foam Limited v Attorney General and 2 Others [2025] UGSC 5
  • Liberti Mercian Limited v Cuddy Civil Engineering Ltd and Another [2013] EWHC 2688
  • Nittan (UK) Limited v Solent Steel Fabrications Limited [1981] 1 Lloyd's Law Rep 633
  • Whittam v WJ Daniel & Co. Ltd [1962] 1 QB 271
  • Wycliff Mubale & Ors v Makerere University (Labour Dispute Miscellaneous Application No. 48 of 2024)

Full judgment

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

Tweheyo_v_Uganda_National_Teachers_Union_(UNATU)_(Miscellaneous_Application_143_of_2024)_[2025]_UGIC_27_(27_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.