MUK to pay for Mujaju’s death

Nov 24, 2009

THE High Court presided over by Justice Remmy Kyononeka Kasule has ordered Makerere University to pay sh56m as compensation to the family of the late Prof. Akiiki Mujaju.

By Hillary Nsambu

THE High Court presided over by Justice Remmy Kyononeka Kasule has ordered Makerere University to pay sh56m as compensation to the family of the late Prof. Akiiki Mujaju.

The university provided a defective motor vehicle that he was using at the time of his death.

The late Mujaju was the head of Political Science and Public Administration. He died in a road accident on July 1, 1999 at Kalembe village, on the Kampala-Mubende-Fort Portal road.

Agnes, the wife of the late academic, sued Makerere University and the Attorney General on behalf of the beneficiaries of the Mujaju estate, her husband died because the university provided him with a vehicle that was in a dangerous mechanical condition.

She said it had worn-out tyres, one of which burst, leading to Mujaju’s death on the spot.

Ase Mugenyi of Mugenyi and Company Advocates, who represented Agnes, said the wife did not live to reap from the judgment, as she died several months ago from cancer.

Justice Kasule in a recent ruling agreed with Mugenyi that apart from providing the couple with the mechanically dangerous motorvehicle, the university was responsible for the accident as its driver, Sennoga, was careless and negligent.

The judge, however, ruled that the Attorney General, who had been jointly sued with the university, was not responsible for the professor’s death.

The court, in agreement with Mugenyi, also dismissed Makerere’s claim that the vehicle and the driver did not belong to the university, but to the Ministry of Education and Sports.

The university had also contended that at the time of the accident, the vehicle was being used for personal purposes.

However, the judge ruled that though the motorvehicle was registered in the names of the ministry, it belonged to the university and the driver was its employee.

He said it was an uncontroverted fact that although the Mujajus were being housed at the campus, they also had their country home in Fort Portal, where they were proceeding after work.

“For an employee of the status of the deceased to move in an office vehicle with his wife from his workplace to their country home cannot be unrelated to his work. His wife was also an authorised passenger,” the judge ruled.

He finally ruled that it was only fair and practical that damages for bereavement are awarded.

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