A man expecting US$30,000 in compensation for injuries suffered while working in Afghanistan instead discovered that his money had been withdrawn by an impostor using a bank account opened in his own name.
The High Court in Mbale has now ordered United Bank for Africa (UBA) Uganda Limited to pay Michael Wilson Mazuno Shs128.23 million after finding the bank negligent and fraudulent in the opening and operation of the account.
Justice Farouq Lubega, in a judgment delivered electronically on September 7, 2026, said UBA failed to properly verify the identity and physical address of the person who opened the account before allowing the compensation to be deposited and subsequently withdrawn.
The judge awarded Mazuno Shs108.23 million, representing the compensation he lost, and a further Shs20 million in general damages for the trauma and distress caused by the loss.
UBA was also ordered to pay the costs of the suit and 8 per cent interest on both awards from the date of judgment until full recovery.
Mazuno, who was employed by American private security company Trip Canopy Global Operations Inc. in January 2019, was injured in 2020 after falling from a guard tower while working in Afghanistan.
He suffered multiple injuries, including spinal damage, hearing impairment and psychological trauma.
Through his American lawyers, Mazuno pursued a workers’ compensation claim against his former employer before the United States Department of Labour’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs.
The claim was eventually settled at US$30,000, equivalent to Shs108.23 million at the time.
His lawyers subsequently remitted the money to a UBA account they believed belonged to him.
But when Mazuno followed up on the payment, he discovered that someone else had opened an account in his name and received the compensation.
The account, number 0768025176, had been opened on April 22, 2023, using Mazuno’s National Identification Number (NIN).
However, the photograph on the identification document presented by the person opening the account did not match Mazuno.
The compensation was deposited on August 10, 2023. Within hours, the money began disappearing.
The impostor withdrew Shs85 million on the same day and another Shs23.23 million the following day, exhausting the compensation.
Justice Lubega said the transactions should have immediately raised questions within the bank.
The account had been opened only a few months before receiving the Shs108.23 million and had remained largely inactive before the compensation was deposited.
More significantly, the account had a daily withdrawal limit of Shs15 million.
Despite this restriction, the impostor was able to withdraw Shs85 million in a single day before taking the remaining Shs23.23 million the following day.
“In my view, the circumstances ought to have alerted the Defendant Bank to the possibility of a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by the impostor, thereby calling for heightened scrutiny and appropriate intervention,” Justice Lubega ruled.
The judge also noted that the bank dismissed Job Ariebi, an officer involved in opening the disputed account.
“The evidence on record shows that the Defendant Bank dismissed Job Ariebi, an officer who was involved in the process of opening the impugned bank account,” he said.
UBA argued that it should not be held liable because Mazuno was not its direct customer.
Justice Lubega rejected the argument, holding that the bank had a duty of care to people who could reasonably be affected by its actions.
“I find that the defendant owed the Plaintiff a duty of care to the plaintiff based on the neighbour principle,” he ruled.
The court found that UBA failed to verify the physical address of the person who opened the account and did not properly verify the photograph against records held by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA).
UBA witnesses told court that its NIN verification system did not provide the applicant’s photograph.
Justice Lubega, however, said the limitation of the system did not relieve the bank of its responsibility to establish that the person opening the account was genuinely Mazuno.
“I find that the Bank breached the duty of care it owed to persons who were reasonably foreseeable victims of harm arising from such negligence,” he ruled.
The judge also found that UBA’s conduct amounted to fraud in the circumstances surrounding the account.
“I am satisfied that the Defendant Bank acted fraudulently in opening Bank Account No. 0768025176 without properly verifying the identity and physical address of the purported account holder,” Justice Lubega said.
He further faulted the bank for authorising the withdrawal of the entire compensation despite the account’s daily withdrawal limit.
“I am further satisfied that the Defendant Bank acted fraudulently in authorising the withdrawal of the entire sum deposited in the account without proper justification, notwithstanding the account’s daily withdrawal limit,” he ruled.
Although UBA did not directly take Mazuno’s money, the judge found that the bank’s failures enabled the loss and therefore made it liable for the consequences.
“For that reason, I order that the Defendant’s Bank make good of the financial loss suffered by the Plaintiff,” Justice Lubega said.
Justice Lubega awarded Mazuno Shs108,230,400 for the compensation lost and Shs20 million for the trauma and distress he suffered.
The judge declined to grant exemplary damages, saying the compensation for the financial loss and general damages was sufficient.
UBA was further ordered to meet the costs of the case and pay 8 per cent interest on the two awards from the date of judgment until full recovery.
