KAMPALA, Uganda | A customer has been granted permission to appeal against Post Bank Uganda for making unauthorised ATM withdrawals at the Kampala High Court’s Commercial Division.

Given that the appeal’s filing delay was adequately justified and had not resulted in serious harm to Post Bank, Lady Justice Susan Odongo granted Noah Egesa permission to file his petition after the deadline.

The conflict started when Egesa filed a civil lawsuit against Post Bank in 2017 to recoup Shs 16.4 million that he said had been unlawfully taken out of his bank account while he was being held by the police.

Due to Post Bank’s failure to provide CCTV footage in a timely manner, Egesa was granted both special and general damages in 2019 after the trial magistrate ruled in his favour.

The High Court Judge, Grace Harriet Magala, determined that the trial magistrate had erred in holding the bank accountable for breach of duty of care after Post Bank successfully appealed the decision in September 2023.

Egesa requested permission to appeal, but he submitted his application after the 14-day window allowed by the Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions.

Egesa contended that the court’s failure to inform him of the judgement date—despite prior guarantees that it would be delivered “on notice”—was the cause of the delay. Only a month after getting in touch with the judge’s clerk did Egesa find out about the ruling.

Post Bank’s attorney, Paul Keishaari, contended that the case was filed under the incorrect statute and in the incorrect court and that the applicant had not adequately explained the reason for the delay.

Furthermore, Keishaari contended that the application is detrimental to the bank because the planned appeal compromises the finality and certainty of court rulings.

According to Justice Odongo, who cited the court’s failure to provide prompt notice as well as the actions of counsel, the High Court had the authority to consider the application for leave to appeal out of time and acknowledged that Egesa had provided adequate justification for the delay.

“The applicant has largely convinced this court that it is fair and reasonable to extend the time to file his appeal,” Justice Odongo declared.

“The applicant has shown that he was prevented by sufficient reason from taking the essential step in time, given that the court-related factors caused the delay in filing the appeal.”

  Justice Susan Odongo awarded Post Bank the application’s costs and instructed Egesa to submit his notice of appeal within 14 days of the decision.