Mbale brass band member loses case over cancelled UK trip
What you need to know:
- The musical band was closely working with the NGO known as Foundation for Development of Needy Community (FDNC) that was being headed by Mr Watulatsu and based in Mbale town.
- When contacted, a joyous Watulatsu said that most people he supported through his initiative failed to cope with his extra ordinary approach as they kept working around to achieve their manipulated schemes to quick gains but unfortunately hit a snug.
KAMPALA. A member of a Mbale-based musical brass band has lost a court case in which he had sued his boss for cancelling his once in a life-time trip to the United Kingdom 12 years ago.
The Court of Appeal has in its verdict upheld the move by the owner of the musical brass band, Mr Samuel Watulatsu to cancel the UK trip of Mr Haruna Zirimu not in bad faith as it had been portrayed.
The core reason for denying Mr Zirimu an opportunity to travel to UK was because at the time of his scheduled travel, he was facing criminal charges of defilement.
The three Justices of the court; Kenneth Kakuru, Elizabeth Musoke and Simon Byabakama Mugenyi, in a unanimous verdict, observed that there was no bad intention by Mr Watulatsu to drop Mr Zirimu from traveling to the UK.
“The undisputed evidence is that the respondent (Mr Zirimu) was arrested by the police on October 24, 2005. He was released on police bond on October 26, 2005 and was required to report back to the Mbale Police Station on October 31 at 10 Am,” the Justices said in their ruling.
The judges further noted that: “This was the day that the respondent (Mr Zirimu) in his own testimony states he was scheduled to travel to the UK. We think that the testimony of the appellant (Mr Watulatsu) ought to have been believed that he asked the British High Commission to cancel the respondent’s visa because he had been detained by police on suspicion of having committed a serious criminal offense at the time he was supposed to have been travelling with others.”
“We find that there was no fraudulent intention or deceit on the part of the appellant (Mr Watulatsu) when he advised the British High Commission. We find that this appeal has merit and we allow it,” they said.
Further in their ruling, the justices ordered Mr Zirimu to foot all the bill of costs that Mr Watulatsu used in defending himself from the Magistrates Court, the High Court up to the Court of Appeal.
This legal battle started in 2005 when Mr Zirimu was a member of the brass musical band known as Foundation Brass Band.
The musical band was closely working with the NGO known as Foundation for Development of Needy Community (FDNC) that was being headed by Mr Watulatsu and based in Mbale town.
In the same year, Mr Watulatsu organized a musical tour to the UK aimed at fundraising money with Mr Zirimu being one of the members picked to travel.
However, on October 27, Mr Zirimu’s visa was cancelled at the instigation of his boss Mr Watulatsu who replaced him with another band member after being involved in defilement case.
Being dissatisfied by the actions of his boss of cancelling his life-time trip that he termed as “lost opportunity” to the UK, he sued his boss leading to the judgment against him.
When contacted, a joyous Watulatsu said that most people he supported through his initiative failed to cope with his extra ordinary approach as they kept working around to achieve their manipulated schemes to quick gains but unfortunately hit a snug.
