The Industrial Court of Uganda has ruled that Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited unfairly and unlawfully dismissed a former employee, Ms. Elizabeth Nyasuna, and ordered the bank to pay her more than UGX 40 million in compensation and damages.
In a judgment delivered on June 16, 2026, Justice Anthony Wabwire Musana, together with panelists Adrine Namara, Susan Nabirye, and Michael Matovu, found that the bank failed to follow proper disciplinary procedures and did not prove allegations of gross negligence that led to Nyasuna’s dismissal in 2012.
Nyasuna joined Stanbic Bank in January 2008 as a teller and later rose to the position of Team Leader, Customer Service. During her employment, she was frequently assigned additional responsibilities, including acting as Branch Manager at the bank’s Entebbe branch.
The dispute arose from a transaction on April 23, 2012, when a customer withdrew UGX 75 million from an account. The transaction was later linked to a fraudulent scheme involving unauthorized transfers.
Following the incident, Nyasuna was arrested, detained overnight, suspended, and eventually dismissed on July 13, 2012, on grounds of gross negligence. Stanbic Bank accused her of authorizing the withdrawal without conducting sufficient due diligence and failing to notice a “No Debit” restriction on the customer’s account.
Nyasuna challenged the dismissal, arguing that she had not participated in any fraud, that the disciplinary process was flawed, and that she was unfairly blamed for a fraud that originated from the bank’s own systems.
The court extensively examined whether Stanbic Bank complied with legal requirements before dismissing the employee.
Justice Musana found that the bank failed to provide Nyasuna with a written disciplinary hearing notice, did not furnish her with sufficient details of the allegations beforehand, and failed to demonstrate that she was given adequate time to prepare her defence.
The court also noted that Stanbic Bank failed to produce critical records, including minutes of the disciplinary hearing and evidence showing that the employee had been given an investigation report before the hearing.
According to the court, these omissions violated both the Employment Act and the bank’s own disciplinary procedures.
“The Respondent did not pass the threshold of procedural fairness,” the court held, adding that the disciplinary process lacked the safeguards required by law.
Beyond procedural flaws, the court also concluded that Stanbic Bank failed to establish that Nyasuna’s actions amounted to gross negligence.
While the bank argued that she approved the withdrawal without proper verification, the court observed that no witness who participated in the disciplinary hearing testified about what transpired there, and no minutes were presented to demonstrate that the allegations had been properly examined.
The court further observed that Nyasuna had been left to manage the branch under challenging circumstances and that the fraud appeared to have originated from transactions involving the bank’s head office suspense account.
“Stanbic Bank may have suffered a financial loss, but it failed to discharge its legal burden to prove that the claimant’s gross negligence directly and culpably caused the loss,” the judgment states.
Having found the dismissal unlawful, the court awarded Nyasuna several remedies, including:
- UGX 1.55 million as a statutory penalty for failure to provide a fair hearing.
- UGX 2.32 million for salary withheld during an unlawful suspension.
- UGX 6.86 million as severance pay.
- UGX 1.55 million as salary in lieu of notice.
- UGX 27.85 million as general damages for the wrongful dismissal.
The total award amounts to approximately UGX 40.1 million, excluding interest.
The court directed that interest on salary-related awards be calculated at 8% per annum from August 13, 2012, until payment in full, while general damages will attract interest from the date of judgment.
The judgment reinforces the obligation of employers to strictly comply with disciplinary procedures before dismissing employees. The court emphasized that employers must provide written notices, disclose allegations in advance, allow adequate preparation time, and maintain proper records of disciplinary proceedings.
The ruling also highlights that allegations of misconduct, particularly in financial institutions, must be supported by credible evidence and properly documented disciplinary processes.
After nearly fourteen years of litigation, the court ultimately concluded that Stanbic Bank failed both procedurally and substantively to justify Nyasuna’s dismissal, bringing a long-running employment dispute to a close.
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