Night car park fined Shs 4m over lost motorcycle

The High court has ordered Woundy Centre Washing Bay and Car Park to pay Shs 4.1 million at 8 per cent interest per annum for a motorcycle stolen from its premises.

Justice Simon Peter Kinobe said the car park can’t escape liability after its guard stole a motorcycle belonging to one Charles Wasswa Matovu, who had parked it in their premises for safe custody.

“This duty of care was breached when the company failed to deliver the motorcycle back to the respondents the next day. The company foresaw the risk of theft and, as such, hired the services of a security company. They, however, failed to take extra care on who they hired for security services.

Supervision should have been exercised in ensuring that the right people are hired and that those hired perform the tasks for which they are hired. The very people hired to provide security became villains. The appellants cannot be held to have taken all possible due diligence and care to avoid the theft. In agreement with the trial magistrate, the appellant’s breach of contract or duty is the primary and substantial cause of the respondent’s loss,” the ruling reads in part.

According to court documents, Matovu had just bought a brand-new Bajaj Boxer motorcycle from Verma Company Limited at Shs 3,101,0002. He thereafter became a client of Woundy Centre, Washing Bay and Car Park. However, less than a month after he parked the motorcycle, he came back the following day to pick it and he didn’t find it.

He reported the matter to the police, who arrested the guard who was on duty on that day. He admitted to stealing the motorcycle and was subsequently convicted of theft by Magistrate’s court at the Law Development Centre.

After the conviction, Matovu instituted a civil suit against the car park and the security company to recover his motorcycle. The magistrate court presided over by Evelyn Najjuko ruled in Matovu’s favour and ordered the car park to pay back the motorcycle and also allowed him general damages of Shs 1 million.

Dissatisfied, the car park and its owner, Ibrahim Kalungi, appealed to the High court, arguing that their business for night parking is limited only to motor vehicles and not motorcycles.

The car park also argued that they were indemnified from liability because the guard who stole the motorcycle was not their employee but rather that of the security company, and it is they who, if at all, should pay. But in his ruling, Kinobe noted that he agrees with the magistrate that the appellants cannot run away from this relationship on the basis that they run a car park for cars and not motorcycles.

“The moment the respondent paid money whose receipt was acknowledged, a contractual obligation was established. Any reasonable man would have believed that by paying for the appellant’s services, his motorcycle would have been secure. I also agree with the trial magistrate that the appellants offered a night parking service; they are liable for those whom they contract to act on owners of this business to carry out this business without any liability for the loss,” Kinobe ruled.

He also disagreed with the car park’s assertion that hiring the services of a security company to provide security services extinguished their liability to Matovu.

“The contract in as far as parking his motorcycle was concerned, was between the respondent and the appellants, and therefore, this relationship established was only actionable solely as against the appellants. This, therefore, means that the appellants are vicariously liable for any loss arising from the acts and or omissions of their employees/agents, whether for services or otherwise, like the security company,” Kinobe ruled.