The High Court in Mbale has ordered United Bank for Africa (UBA) Limited to pay more than Sh128 million to a Ugandan man whose compensation for injuries sustained while working in Afghanistan was fraudulently withdrawn from an account opened in his name by an impostor.
Justice Farouq Lubega ordered UBA to pay Michael Wilson Mazuno Sh108.23 million, being the compensation that was fraudulently withdrawn, and a further Sh20 million in general damages. The judge also ordered the bank to pay the costs of the suit and directed that the Sh128.23 million award attract interest at eight percent per annum from September 7,2026 until payment is made in full.
Justice Lubega delivered the judgment electronically to the advocates of the parties on September 7, 2026, in Civil Suit No. 006 of 2024. Mazuno sued UBA in 2024 for negligence, fraud, breach of duty of care, and conversion after an impostor allegedly opened an account in his name and received his compensation.
Court documents show that Mazuno was employed in January 2019 as an armed security guard by Trip Canopy Global Operations Inc., an American private security company operating in Afghanistan. In 2020, Mazuno fell from a guard tower and sustained multiple injuries, including spinal damage, hearing impairment, and psychological trauma.
He subsequently pursued compensation from his former employer through lawyers before the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs. His lawyers later informed him that his claim had been settled and that compensation of US$30,000 had been approved and remitted to a bank account held in his name at UBA.
However, when Mazuno followed up on the payment, he discovered that an account bearing his name and National Identification Number had been opened at UBA on April 22, 2023, but carried the photograph of another person. The Sh108.23 million deposited on the account was subsequently withdrawn in two instalments on August 10 and 11, 2023.
Mazuno argued that UBA had failed to properly verify the identity and physical address of the person who opened the account and had not carried out adequate Know Your Customer checks. UBA denied liability, arguing, among other things, that Mazuno was not its customer and therefore the bank did not owe him a duty of care. However, Justice Lubega ruled that a bank’s duty of care can extend to third parties where negligent or unlawful conduct causes foreseeable harm.
The judge found that UBA had failed to verify the photograph of the person presenting the NIN and had not verified the physical address provided before opening the account. The court also found it significant that the account had been opened only a few months before receiving more than Sh108 million, after which the entire amount was withdrawn despite the account having a daily withdrawal limit of Sh15 million.
Justice Lubega said the circumstances amounted to red flags that should have prompted the bank to carry out further due diligence and intervene to prevent the suspected fraud. The court also considered evidence from a former branch manager that bank staff involved in opening the account had faced disciplinary action. Justice Lubega concluded that UBA had failed to exercise the requisite care and good faith when opening the account and allowing the funds to be withdrawn.
“I find that the Defendant Bank acted fraudulently in opening Bank Account No. 0768025176 without properly verifying the identity and physical address of the purported account holder,” the judgment states.The judge rejected UBA’s argument that it could not be held liable because the bank itself had not taken Mazuno’s money, ruling that the bank’s negligence had caused the financial loss. Lubega consequently ordered UBA to compensate Mazuno for the Sh108.23 million loss.
The court also awarded Mazuno Sh20 million in general damages, taking into account the trauma and financial burden he endured while pursuing recovery of his compensation, as well as the serious physical injuries he had already sustained in the workplace accident. However, the judge declined to award exemplary damages, saying an additional punitive award would be excessive after ordering UBA to compensate Mazuno and pay general damages.The bank was also ordered to meet the costs of the suit-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
