The High Court in Kampala has ordered St Peter’s Nalya to return a vehicle it had taken away from its former deputy head teacher after resigning his job.
Justice Musa Ssekaana in his ruling said the school can’t take away a gift it had already given to somebody as punishment for resigning. The school had argued that the car had been given to Odetta Denis in his capacity as deputy head teacher. But the judge refused the argument. “The demand for the vehicle was in retaliation for his sudden resignation upon their refusal to grant the plaintiff leave. It may appear that the defendant’s giving of the gift was not necessarily just an altruistic act. Maybe it was given in the hope that the plaintiff would reciprocate in a particular way by remaining in the employment of the defendant for life. Upon the plaintiff’s refusal to continue in employment resulted in the demand to repossess the gift,” Ssekaana’s ruling reads in part.
“Upon determination of the preceding issue, the plaintiff is entitled to the return of his gift- Motor Vehicle Registration No. UAT 207C (Toyota Premio) and in the alternative, compensation for the value of the motor vehicle at the time it was taken away from him in 2017. The Registrar of this court shall determine the value of the said motor vehicle as of the time in November 2017.”
According to court records, Odetta Dennis worked as the deputy headmaster for St Peter’s Secondary School Nalya in Wakiso district up to 2017 when he resigned. Odetta told the court that he resigned because the school had refused to grant him leave after he had an accident. Odetta fell into a septic tank while chasing after a student who had remained in the dormitory during school time.
In his application in court, Odetta also wanted to be compensated for the injuries he suffered when he fell in the septic tank. However, Ssekaana rejected this claiming that the teacher was overzealous in trying to run after an errant student. “The plaintiff was not likely to fall in a septic tank if he had avoided a dangerous approach of chasing the student… The plaintiff before being promoted to Deputy Head Teacher…, had been Director of Studies and classroom teacher for 10 years at the same school before the unfortunate incident. The plaintiff was quite conversant with the school environment and the standard of care of the defendant towards the plaintiff.
“The court considering the experience of the plaintiff, the job scope and the position of Deputy Head Teacher he was holding at the time would absolve the defendant on the allegations of negligence and breach of the standard of care. The plaintiff’s misfortune would serve as a warning to all such overzealous teachers to avoid getting in harm’s way in the execution of their duties of enforcing discipline among the errant students. Septic tank covers are not usually dangerous once they are not stepped over while running or chasing students,” Ssekaana ruled.
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