The first Plaintiff drew a cheque on the second Plaintiff in
the sum of Tshs. 175,809,754/= in favour of the Commissioner for Customs and
Excise, in discharge of its tax obligations. The cheque was presented to the
Defendant, who cleared and debited the 1st Plaintiff’s account held in the 2nd
Plaintiff. But the sum did not reach the beneficiary payee, the Commissioner
for Customs and Excise, as the latter wrote a letter to demand the assessed
tax. When confronted the Defendant claimed to have processed a cheque deposited
by Sky Oil Investment Ltd favouring MGS International Ltd; however, the number
of the cheque, the amount and the bank on which it was drawn was so similar to
the one drawn by the 1st Plaintiff. The Defendant could not produce a copy of
that cheque deposited by Sky Oil. The Court considered whether or not the
Defendant acted fraudulently and whether the Plaintiff, drawer of the cheque
could sue the Defendant.