E.J

Justice Mubiru Orders woman who borrowed UGX 20 Million from @dfcugroup to pay UGX 165.7 Million plus Interest after presenting an imposter as her Husband and using her husband’s land title as security✍Under the strict doctrine of absolute contracts, once a party binds themselves to an absolute obligation, business losses do not discharge clear a commercial debt. ✍An acquittal in criminal case does not preclude a finding of fraud in civil proceedings, the wife knowingly presented a person she knew was not her husband as her husband, with the intent of inducing the bank ✍They were criminally prosecuted but acquitted, however, an acquittal in a criminal case, which requires proof beyond reasonable doubt, does not preclude a finding of fraud in civil proceedings, which requires only a standard higher than a balance of probabilities but lower than beyond reasonable doubt. ✍The evidentiary burden in the civil case is different and less onerous. ✍The plaintiff knowingly presented a person she knew was not her husband as her husband, with the intent of inducing the bank to extend an overdraft facility secured by land registered in her husband’s name, an act that falls squarely within the statutory and common law definitions of fraud. ✍Under the strict doctrine of absolute contracts, once a party binds themselves to an absolute obligation, subsequent supervening hardships, economic downturns, or business losses do not discharge or frustrate a clear commercial debt. ✍Frustration of commercial contracts applies only where performance becomes objectively or legally impossible, not simply harder or less profitable. Under section 66(1) of the Contracts Act, a contract is only discharged by frustration when an unforeseen external event makes performance objectively or legally impossible, or radically alters the obligation from what was contemplated. ✍The destruction of business assets is a commercial risk borne exclusively by the entrepreneur ✍ It is an elementary principle of the law of contract that a party who receives a financial facility under a valid agreement is under a strict legal obligation to repay the same. ✍The recoverability of a contractual sum as a debt hinges on its objective calculability. A formula or mechanism embedded in the agreement satisfies the objective test only if it yields a precise figure without discretionary or future third-party evaluation. ✍In claims for the recovery of a contractual sum, the general “touchstone” of a liquidated claim is whether the amount owed is capable of objective arithmetical calculation even if that may entail some measure of investigation. Appearances; For the plaintiff: M/s. AF Mpanga Advocates. For the defendant Nsereko-Mukalazi & Co. Advocates Case link: ulii.org/en/akn/ug/judgment/…