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This blog does not contain legal advice. The legal information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Accordingly, before taking any actions based on such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals. Authors are liable for any plagiarism and Lawpoint Uganda won`t have liability towards the same.


Industrial Court Clarifies That Removal of an Employee's Work Tools Without Due Process Constitutes Unlawful Dismissal
The Court characterised the removal of an employee's work tools as "a deliberately oppressive labour practice," treating it as strong evidence of breach of the implied duty of mutual trust and confidence, drawing on its own precedent in Granada Hotels Uganda Limited v Tayssiir Zereli and on the Supreme Court of Canada's reasoning in Potter v New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission, where cutting off an employee's work tools without disciplinary justification was found to

Waboga David
11 minutes ago6 min read


Industrial Court Clarifies Dismissal vs. Termination; Holds That Employers Cannot Rely on HR Manual Disciplinary Rules Unless the Manual Was Supplied to Employees or Made Reasonably Accessible.
The Court held that the Claimant, recruited from Kaberamaido and dismissed after more than fifteen years of service, was entitled to repatriation under Section 39 of the Employment Act, but declined to enhance the CBA's fixed sum of UGX 400,000, holding that it could not rewrite the parties' bargain once they had agreed the CBA governed. Because the dismissal was found unjustified, the statutory bar on severance pay for employees summarily dismissed for gross misconduct did n

Waboga David
2 days ago8 min read


High Court at Kabale Clarifies That a Caveator Who Fails to File Suit Within Six Months Loses Standing; Orders Removal of Caveat and Grants Letters of Administration
The Court found that the Plaintiff had complied with section 252(1) of the Succession Act by filing the present suit for removal of the caveat well within six months after the caveat had been lodged. Relying on the statutory scheme governing succession proceedings, the Court held that failure by a caveator to institute proceedings within the prescribed period results in the caveat lapsing by operation of law.
The Court further endorsed the reasoning in Kawuki David & Others

Waboga David
2 days ago5 min read


Where a customer voluntarily authorises a payment after being deceived by fraudsters, the bank is generally not liable provided it faithfully executes the customer's instructions. High Court Rules
The Court held that the Respondent appeared to have fallen victim to an online fraud perpetrated by an individual posing as a Japanese motor vehicle dealer. The Court emphasised that banks are not insurers against their customers' commercial decisions or fraudulent transactions initiated by customers themselves. The Court stated: "The appellant cannot be held liable for the fraud into which the respondent was induced." It further held that once the Bank had processed the cust

Waboga David
4 days ago6 min read


High Court Holds That Corporal Punishment in Schools Is Unconstitutional; Schools Are Vicariously Liable for Teachers' Assaults; & Agreements Requiring a Party to Waive Legal Rights.
Relying on section 154 of the Children Act and the Constitutional Court decision in Kyamanywa v Uganda, the Court held that corporal punishment constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment prohibited under Ugandan law.
The Court concluded: "That conduct amounted to corporal punishment, which is prohibited by the laws of Uganda, and, therefore, illegal."

Waboga David
4 days ago6 min read


High Court Clarifies That Courts Cannot Deny Mandatory Bail Based on the Gravity of the Offence; Says Parliament Already Balanced the Gravity of Capital Offences in the 180-Day Mandatory Bail Rule.
The Court held that bail conditions should never be so onerous as to render the constitutional right illusory. It emphasised that the primary purpose of bail conditions is to secure attendance at trial rather than punish an accused person before conviction. The Court stated; "Mandatory bail granted in name but rendered practically unattainable is no bail at all." The Court further explained that the amount of bond and the standing of sureties must be proportionate to the appl

Waboga David
Jul 105 min read


The High Court Rules That Loan Clauses Allowing Banks to Change Interest Rates Unilaterally Are Unenforceable Without Both Parties' Consent
The Court found that any variation must be driven by objective market indicators, such as changes in the Bank of Uganda central bank rate, and must be communicated to the customer in writing beforehand. It held that; "Unilateral adjustments made surreptitiously or restrictively, without explicit contractual triggers or customer notification, constitute a material breach of the banker-customer contract."

Simon Muhindo
Jul 93 min read


THE COLONIAL RELIC OF SECTION 38 OF THE PENAL CODE ACT, CAP. 128: WHY THE OFFENCE OF PROMOTING SECTARIANISM IS VOID FOR VAGUENESS AND SHOULD BE ANNULLED
More fundamentally, it is a modest plea for constitutional morality, not in the abstract, but as a practical obligation resting upon every actor in the administration of justice. Judicial officers, prosecutors, and all public officials entrusted with enforcing the law must look beyond the mere existence of an offence on the statute book and ask a more fundamental constitutional question; does the Constitution permit this offence to be enforced? The fact that Parliament enacte

Waboga David
Jul 212 min read


High Court Orders the Liquidation of Port Bell Supermarkets Limited and Clarifies that a Creditors' Resolution under Section 150 Automatically Deems Shareholders to Have Resolved to Liquidate.
The Court observed that the creditors' resolution triggered the operation of s. 154(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act. By operation of law, the shareholders were deemed to have passed a special resolution for liquidation under s. 92(2). The Court further noted that the lapse of the Administration Deed provided an independent basis for the same deeming consequence under ss. 152 and 154. The effect of section 154 is significant. Parliament has expressly provided a statutory mechanism

Waboga David
Jun 269 min read


Even Where a Contract Ought to Be in Writing Under Section 10(5) of the Contracts Act, Equity Will Render It Enforceable Where One Party Has Partly Performed Its Obligations. High Court Rules.
The court found that a valid and enforceable supply contract existed between the parties. Applying ss. 10(2) and 10(5) of the Contracts Act, the court held that the formal writing requirement for contracts exceeding UGX 500,000 does not render non-compliant contracts void; they are merely unenforceable by action. Importantly, the requirement may be satisfied by piecing together related commercial documents, purchase orders, invoices, delivery notes, email chains and reconcili

Waboga David
Jun 257 min read


High Court at Kabale Revokes Letters of Administration Due to Material Irregularity; Holds That a Family Meeting Stating That a Person Was Married to the Deceased is No Evidence of a Valid Marriage
The court had ordered that the proceedings in Administration Cause No. 14 of 2024 be remanded to the Office of the Administrator General, Kabale. The purpose of this remand was for the Administrator General to determine whether the applicant was a "widow" within the meaning of the Succession Act, prior to the grant being reinstated. The Administrator General was then to report findings to the Registrar of the High Court, and the matter would subsequently be cause-listed for h

Businge Shaban
Jun 235 min read


PDPO Upholds NIRA's Refusal to Disclose Third-Party National Identification Records Without Consent, Clarifying that Access Rights Under Data Protection Law Do Not Extend to Private Litigants
The PDPO rejected the complainant's argument that statutory exemptions relating to criminal investigations and legal proceedings automatically entitled him to obtain third-party personal data. The Office held that those provisions merely create circumstances where processing may lawfully occur; they do not confer a freestanding right to compel disclosure from NIRA. Accordingly, a private litigant cannot bypass the specific statutory requirements governing access to informatio

Atuheire Gloria
Jun 176 min read


High Court Orders Uganda Christian University to Pay 100 Million for Unfairly Revoking a Student's Transferred Credits After Four Years of Study and Frustrating Her Legitimate Expectation to Graduate
Applying the doctrine of legitimate expectation as articulated in Halsbury’s Laws of England and Paponette v Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, the Court held that the Applicant had a legitimate expectation that her credits from King’s College London had been accepted and transferred. That expectation arose from the express terms of the 2022 admission letter, her placement into Semester II of the programme, and UCU’s consistent conduct over a four-year period, including

Waboga David
Jun 138 min read


High Court Dismisses Suit for Lack of Locus Standi; Holds That a Struck-Off Company Cannot Maintain Proceedings and a Shareholder Cannot Exercise Rights on Behalf of a Non-Existent Company
On restoration, the Court explained that a struck-off company may apply for administrative restoration by the Registrar only within twelve months of being struck off; any person aggrieved by the striking off may apply to the Registrar within five years; and beyond the twelve-month window, restoration can only be achieved through a court order. The restoration process requires a written application stating grounds, a thirty-day Gazette notice of intention to reinstate, and, wh

Waboga David
Jun 1311 min read


Once a mortgage sale is lawfully completed and title is transferred, the purchaser acquires not only ownership but also the right to physical possession of the property. High Court Rules
The Court found that the 1st Plaintiff had lawfully exercised its statutory power of sale under Section 19(e) of the Mortgage Act (Cap 239) following the 1st Defendant's default. She reaffirmed that upon registration of a transfer following a mortgagee's sale, the purchaser acquires full ownership free of all liability on the mortgage (Section 27(4)), and acquires good title except in cases of fraud or misrepresentation (Section 28(1)).

Waboga David
Jun 115 min read


High Court at Kabale Affirms That Appeal Is the Proper Remedy Where an Acquittal Is Allegedly Tainted by Illegality, Grants Leave to Appeal Out of Time in Judicial Recusal Case
Facts The Director of Public Prosecutions, on behalf of the Republic of Uganda, sought leave to appeal out of time against a decision by His Worship Muchelule Dismas, a Magistrate at Kisoro Chief Magistrates Court, delivered on August 5, 2025. The original case involved charges of assault occasioning bodily harm against the respondents, Col. Kayita Deo and Pte Nyeko Christopher, under Section 236 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 128. The trial court had issued a ruling of no-case t

Atukunda Joan (Patel)
Jun 114 min read


High Court at Mbale Holds That a Vendor Who Double-Sells Land to Different Purchasers May be Held Liable to Compensate the Dispossessed Purchaser at the Property's Current Market Value.
The Court reaffirmed the equitable principle of "first in time", holding that where competing interests arise over the same property, priority is generally accorded to the earlier purchaser whose interest was acquired first. The Court clarified that a purchaser who loses the property due to an earlier competing interest is entitled to seek compensation from the vendor who wrongfully conducted the subsequent sale.

Waboga David
Jun 97 min read


Severance Pay Cannot Be Awarded to an Unlawfully Terminated Employee, Only to an Unfairly Dismissed One. Industrial Court Rules.
The learned Judge clarified that Section 86(a) of the Employment Act permits severance pay only in cases of unfair dismissal and not merely unlawful termination. The Court reaffirmed its earlier decision in Nganda Joweria v Allen V.R. Stanley Secondary School, where it held that severance pay is unavailable in cases of unlawful termination. Accordingly, the Court found that the Labour Officer's award of severance pay lacked legal foundation and set it aside.

Waboga David
Jun 75 min read


High Court at Kabale Clarifies Principles Governing Leave to Appeal Out of Time and the Distinction Between Review, Revision, and Admission of Additional Evidence on Appeal
The court clarified that while an application for review under Section 82 of the Civil Procedure Act is permissible in certain instances, it is not a license to re-hear the merits of the suit, but rather is limited to correcting errors on the face of the record. Revision under Section 83 of the Civil Procedure Act addresses material irregularity or illegality in the exercise of jurisdiction.

Harmony Ritah Owomugisha
Jun 77 min read


Can Bad Lawyering Defeat a Constitutional Right? An Interesting Case of Tuyiramye Edward v Uganda and Mandatory Bail in Uganda.
Justice Ssemogerere observed that pursuing an application while disregarding express statutory provisions that confer a more favourable entitlement to bail is prejudicial to the applicant's rights. In reaching this conclusion, the learned Judge relied on Valentino Baburuhe v Uganda, Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 2 of 2025, [2025] UGHC 271 (13 May 2025). The Court further emphasized that where an applicant is legally entitled to mandatory bail, it is improper to seek

Mutungi Owen Mark
Jun 67 min read


High Court at Kampala Clarifies Rights of Beneficiaries in Undistributed Estates and Holds that the Mere Existence of Family Burials on Private Land Does Not Automatically Convert It into Clan Land
The learned Judge found that after obtaining letters of administration, the plaintiff failed to distribute the estate to rightful beneficiaries. Instead, he transferred the land into his own names, subdivided it, sold portions, and mortgaged portions for loans. The Court described the plaintiff's conduct as "grossly irregular" and inconsistent with the fiduciary obligations of an administrator.

Waboga David
Jun 68 min read


High Court Upholds Bank of Baroda’s Right to Recall Demand Credit Facilities, but Rejects Foreclosure Remedies for Failure to Comply with Statutory Notice Requirements under the Mortgage Act.
On foreclosure, the court reaffirmed, that the statutory notices under the Mortgage Act (Sections 18, 19, 25 and 27) are mandatory. Since the defendant had issued only the forty-five working days' default notice and had not adduced evidence of all required notices, foreclosure was declined at this stage. On interest, the court awarded simple interest at 10% per annum from the date of judgment, following the approach

Waboga David
Jun 510 min read


High Court Sets Aside Housing Finance Bank’s Sale of Mortgaged Property, Holding That Default Alone Does Not Trigger a Valid Power of Sale Without Proper Statutory Notice Under Section 18 of the M.A
The court found that the bank breached this duty by relying on a stale valuation report containing manifest errors, delaying the sale for months after the initial advertisement, and conducting an opaque auction process with no documentary proof of competing bids. The court noted that the property was sold at a gross undervalue of UGX 135,000,000/=, despite the plaintiffs having identified a buyer willing to pay UGX 235,000,000/=.

Simon Muhindo
Jun 47 min read


The High Court Clarifies that Where a National Sports Body Exercises Public Power Over Athletes, Its Disciplinary Decisions Are Subject to Judicial Review
The Court found that the Union was not acting as an ordinary private club dealing with a purely private contractual relationship but was exercising disciplinary authority over a national athlete within an organized national sports framework. In reaching its decision, the Court relied on Chief Constable of North Wales Police v Evans and the Judicature (Judicial Review) (Amendment) Rules, 2019, which extend judicial review to bodies exercising quasi-judicial functions or perfor

Waboga David
May 306 min read
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