By KT Reporter
Standard Chartered Bank (Stanchart) must pay UGX 573 million to Grace Tibihikira Makoko, a former employee, after the Court of Appeal ruled in her favor over an unlawful dismissal claim. However, the court reduced the initial award by half. Makoko, who served as Stanchart’s Regional Head of Financial Markets and Wholesale Banking for East Africa, sued the bank for wrongful termination in 2015.
The Industrial Court originally awarded her UGX 1 billion in damages and $108,750 in unvested shares.The bank appealed, arguing that the awards were excessive and legally unfounded. In a decision by judges Muzamiru Kibeedi, Christopher Gashirabake, and Oscar Kihika, the Court of Appeal agreed with the bank, slashing the damages to UGX 500 million.
“We are mindful of the principle that the appellate court will not interfere with the discretion of the trial court in its award of damages unless that court acted upon a wrong principle of law or that the amount awarded is so high or so low as to make it an entirely erroneous estimate of damages to which the claimant is entitled…” the court ruled.
The judges went on to say, “We have looked at the Respondent’s witness statement where she sought payment of the ‘outstanding period of her contract’ running between June 2015 to January 2016—8 months—as a yardstick to find that an award of UGX 1,000,000,000 in general damages is more than double what she would have earned had she worked until the end of her contract. The award puts her in a much better position than she would have been had she not been unlawfully terminated.”
In addition to reducing the general damages, the court determined that the $108,750 for unvested shares was unfounded, cutting the claim down to $20,000. The judges also reduced the interest rates on the awards from 15% to 10% for general damages and 15% to 8% for the unvested shares, deeming the original rates too high.
“We find that there was no basis for the industrial court to more than double the Respondent’s own annual salary, especially where the contract was coming to an end within 8 months from the unlawful termination. In arriving at the quantum, we have considered the Respondent’s duration of service with the Appellant, status in the banking industry, and disruption of her employment prospects,” the court held.
Court records show that Tibihikira, who started at Stanchart in 1995 as a clerk, rose to the position of Regional Head by 2011. However, she was dismissed in 2015 without a hearing. Tibihikira described her dismissal as harsh and unjust, causing damage to her career and personal well-being. In 2020, the Industrial Court ruled in her favor, but the Court of Appeal has since reduced her award-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
