KAGABA v. ACCESS BANK Ltd

KAGABA v. ACCESS BANK Ltd

The Supreme Court held that Kagaba, having expressly waived the benefit of discussion in the guarantee, could be sued directly for RESTOTEL's debt without RESTOTEL being summoned. However, the interest calculation using capitalisation was not supported by a specific agreement or judgment, so only simple interest at the contractual rate was allowed. Attorney fees and legal costs were denied as Kagaba partially succeeded.

Citation
RCOMA 0065/12/CS
Parties
Appellant: Kagaba Pierre Corneille; Respondent: Access Bank Ltd; Principal Debtor: Rwanda Restaurants & Hotels Sarl (RESTOTEL Sarl); Co Guarantor: Muhire Frédéric
Court
Supreme Court
Jurisdiction
Rwanda
Judgment Date
17 October 2014
Case Number
RCOMA 0065/12/CS
Procedural Posture
Commercial Appeal / Supreme Court Judgment
Outcome
Partially allowed appeal; cross-appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Guarantee and Suretyship, Loan Agreements, Interest Calculation, Procedural Rights
Source Language
rw, en
Contract Law Banking Law Civil Procedure Guarantee and Suretyship Loan Agreements Interest Calculation Procedural Rights

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Legal principles 3 Authorities cited 3 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Kagaba Pierre Corneille

Appellant

Access Bank Ltd

Respondent

Rwanda Restaurants & Hotels Sarl (RESTOTEL Sarl)

Principal Debtor

Muhire Frédéric

Co Guarantor

Procedural Posture

Commercial Appeal / Supreme Court Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a guarantor can be ordered to pay a debt of the principal debtor not summoned to court
  2. 2 Whether the calculation of interest using capitalisation was lawful
  3. 3 Entitlement to legal costs and attorney fees

Ratio Decidendi

The Supreme Court held that Kagaba, having expressly waived the benefit of discussion in the guarantee, could be sued directly for RESTOTEL's debt without RESTOTEL being summoned. However, the interest calculation using capitalisation was not supported by a specific agreement or judgment, so only simple interest at the contractual rate was allowed. Attorney fees and legal costs were denied as Kagaba partially succeeded.

Court Disposition

Partially allowed appeal; cross-appeal dismissed

Orders

  • Kagaba Pierre Corneille to pay Access Bank Ltd 66,936,857 Rwandan francs (principal and interest)
  • Each party to bear half the court costs (50,000 Rwandan francs each)