Pato was that thug who beat up Mato oba for what exactly; oba women, oba a deal gone bad. Anyway, Mato was badly hurt and took Pato to court over assault charges. When the case was concluded, the court found that Pato was guilty of the charges brought against him and sentenced him to one year in jail. But here’s the real kick in the part that hurts most, Mato was awarded damages which included both compensatory and punitive damages that led to Pato paying him 20 million Ugandan Shillings to cover Mato’s hospital bills and the income he lost during the 5 months that he was
stuck in the hospital but also to punish Pato for his unlawful conduct. What is the difference between Punitive damages and compensatory damages?
“Punitive damages” are damages that are awarded as punishment over and above the compensatory damages that one has to pay usually meant to punish a person for an unlawful act or conduct while “compensatory damages” is money awarded to a person to compensate for actual damage, injury, or another incurred loss. In this case, court felt Mato deserved both Compensatory and Punitive damages.