Court of Appeal of Uganda

The Court of Appeal is the second highest court in the land. It came into being following the promulgation of the 1995 Constitution, and the enactment of the Judicature Statute, 1996. Article 134 of the Constitution established the structure of the Court of Appeal.

While presiding over matters , it is duly constituted when it consists of an odd number of not less than three (3) justices of the Court of Appeal. It is this court that constitutes itself into a Constitutional Court in accordance with the Constitution to hear constitutional cases.

The Constitutional Court consists of fifteen (15) justices and handles the matters, issues or cases concerning the interpretation of the Constitution When presiding over a constitutional matter, there must be a quorum of at least five (5) justices of the court.

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Twed Towers along Kafu Road, Nakasero,Kampala.

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https://www.judiciary.go.ug/data/smenu/77//Court%20of%20Appeal.html

11 judgments

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11 judgments

Citation	Judgment date
January 2026
Busingye Provia and Others v Shedrack Yaboneka (Civil Miscellaneous Application No. 598 of 2025) [2026] UGCA 6 (30 January 2026) Court granted stay of execution pending appeal after finding a prima facie case, risk of irreparable harm, and favourable balance of convenience. Civil procedure – Stay of execution pending appeal – Requirements: notice of appeal; prima facie likelihood of success; irreparable harm/nugatory appeal; balance of convenience; promptness – Rule 42 High Court prerequisite – Execution for costs and threat of civil imprisonment.	30 January 2026
Paul Sentambule v Jane Musoke (Civil Appeal No. 122 of 2015) [2026] UGCA 7 (30 January 2026) Second appeal dismissed: registered title upheld; appellant failed to prove lawful occupancy or justify retrial; costs awarded to respondent. Land law – title vs alleged kibanja interest; burden of proof on occupant to show legality of occupancy; credibility and authenticity of sale agreement; locus in quo – necessity and record; second appeal scope; procedural competence of preliminary objection under Rule 102(b); limitation of actions.	30 January 2026
Damalie Namakula Bisobye v Byakusaaga Bisobye Ssebulime Kyeyune Bikosojo and Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 548 of 2025) [2026] UGCA 4 (27 January 2026) Whether a stay of execution is appropriate where the appeal was withdrawn by consent and the property already sold. Civil procedure – Stay of execution – Requirements: existence of appeal, likelihood of success, irreparable harm, balance of convenience, absence of delay – Withdrawal by consent – Execution completed and property transferred to third-party – Reinstatement vs set-aside.	27 January 2026
Mpanga Farouq v Ssenkubuge Isaac and Electoral Commission (Election Petition Application No. 48 of 2022) [2026] UGCA 3 (27 January 2026) Slip rule inapplicable to change costs order where the court’s intention to award costs to respondents was clear. Civil procedure — Judicature (Court of Appeal) Rules, Rule 36 (slip rule) — Correction of judgments — Clerical/arithmetical mistakes vs substantive errors — Costs orders — Election petition appeal.	27 January 2026
Obwana Peter v Malaba Town Council and Others (Civil Appeal No. 259 of 2017) [2026] UGCA 2 (27 January 2026) Second appellate court: implied warranty of habitability can be an implied term; contract existed but landlord breached by not providing habitable premises. Contract law — Tenancy agreement — Implied warranty of habitability — Parole evidence admissible to explain ambiguous written terms — Pleading: implied term is a term of law and need not be pleaded in technical terms — Second appellate duty to interfere where lower courts misapplied law or failed to evaluate evidence.	27 January 2026
Musoke Charles and Others v Manyangwa Lovincer and Others (Civil Appeal 159 of 2018) [2026] UGCA 1 (21 January 2026) Appeal against refusal to set aside an ex‑parte judgment was struck out for lack of the mandatory leave to appeal. Civil procedure – Setting aside ex-parte judgments – Order 9 rule 12 – Appeals – leave required under Order 44 rules (2) and (3) – Right to appeal is statutory – appeal struck out for want of leave.	21 January 2026
Higenyi Malik aka Kabanda v Uganda (Criminal Appeal 222 of 2017) [2026] UGCA 5 (20 January 2026) Conviction for murder upheld; death sentence set aside and replaced with 29 years 8 months imprisonment. Criminal law — Appeal on conviction and sentence — admissibility and weight of charge and caution statements — retracted confession alleged obtained under duress — first appellate court’s duty to reappraise evidence — sentencing — death penalty reserved for gravest and rare cases — mitigating factors justify substitution of sentence.	20 January 2026
Busingye Christopher and Another v Imelda Norah Rukanyangira and Another (Civil Appeal No. 419 of 2022) [2026] UGCA 131 (19 January 2026) Appeal succeeds: contempt not proved because non-compliance was not wilful or mala fide; penalty and damages set aside. Civil contempt – elements of civil contempt (existence of order; notice; non-compliance; wilful and mala fide disobedience) – consent staying execution – distinction between renovations and new developments – appellate re-evaluation of facts – penalty and damages for contempt	19 January 2026
Mwajuma Nalubega and Mohammed Zaid v Owakubariho Annet and Mugisha Pastori (Civil Appeal No. 38 of 2016) [2026] UGCA 132 (19 January 2026) Second appeal dismissed: no re-evaluation of evidence; customary-inheritance findings and sale title upheld; locus issue barred as new. Civil procedure — Second appeal — Scope of review — Second appellate court will not re-evaluate evidence unless first appellate court failed to re-examine trial evidence Land law — Customary tenure — Proof of customs and effect on inheritance — factual question; court may take judicial notice of well-known practices where appropriate Conveyancing — Purchase and passing of title — sale agreements and credible evidence may establish good title Civil procedure — Locus in quo — failure to visit locus is not fatal per se; issue not raised below cannot be introduced on second appeal	19 January 2026
James Makumbi v Joseph Semango and Another (Civil Appeal No. 184 of 2021) [2026] UGCA 55 (14 January 2026) Long continuous possession and procedural defects in transfers extinguished respondents' title and established appellant's ownership. Land law – customary/kibanja occupation vs registered title – long possession and equitable claim; Limitation Act (12-year rule) extinguishing title; invalid/illegal transfers and lack of letters of administration; admissibility and weight of hearsay; award of general damages without pleading or evidence; first appellate rehearing and miscarriage of justice.	14 January 2026
Musiitwa Leonard and Others v Musaasizi Emmanuel and Others (Civil Appeal No. 237 of 2019) [2026] UGCA 54 (14 January 2026) Appeal struck out for being filed five days late from the statutory period after the record's certification; notice of appeal was otherwise timely. Civil procedure — appeals — computation of appeal time — Notice of Appeal timely where judgment delivered by Registrar is dated in decree — Rule 83(2): time for instituting appeal computed from date record certified by Registrar — failure to apply for extension of time — appeal struck out.	14 January 2026