The Commercial Court Judge Justice Henry Peter Adonyo has ordered Opportunity Bank Uganda to pay 150million shillings to a female commercial farmer based in Soroti, Winnie Asege for posting her image on billboards without her consent.
Asege operating under the Dakabela Rural Women Development Association as chairperson says in 2013 she saw her image posted on huge bill boards run by the said bank in which she was shown to be heartily laughing and holding a bountiful harvest of oranges in her hands.
In addition to those huge bill boards the Bank is stated to have produced advertising flyers, brochures and calendars bearing similar images of the plaintiff as those depicted in the huge bill boards which the bank liberally distributed to its branches country wide.
She states that the productions were never commissioned, assigned, licensed and were without her consent to take her photographs.
Justice Adonyo ordered the bank to pay Shs. 80million to the plaintiff for the invasion of her privacy, 50m as general damages, 20million as aggravated damages and interest of 6 percent per annum from today and to pay costs of the suit.
The judge added that the bank deserves such a punishment since it acted without thought and remained adamant throughout these proceedings and showed no sign of remorse for its actions.