Results.
176 judgments found.
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September 2022
6 September 2022
5 September 2022
1 September 2022
Court terminated proceedings and discharged the accused found unfit to stand trial due to mild intellectual disability.
Criminal law — Fitness to stand trial — psychiatric assessment diagnosing mild intellectual disability — inability to understand proceedings
Evidence — Rebuttal of presumption of sound mind by credible medical expert evidence (s.10 Penal Code Act)
Procedure — Section 45(1) Trial on Indictments Act inquiry; section 45(5) declared unconstitutional (CEHURD v AG) — need for alternative procedure. Court powers — Judicature Act s.39(2) and inherent powers to prevent abuse of process and discontinue prosecution where accused is unfit
1 September 2022
August 2022
31 August 2022
30 August 2022
29 August 2022
Suit dismissed for want of prosecution due to inordinate, inexcusable delay; costs awarded to 2nd and 3rd defendants.
Civil procedure — Dismissal for want of prosecution; inordinate and inexcusable delay; three-part test (Allen v Sir Alfred); court’s inherent powers and section 17(2) Judicature Act; costs to successful defendants.
26 August 2022
25 August 2022
25 August 2022
25 August 2022
23 August 2022
23 August 2022
Four accused convicted of murder on corroborated single-witness identification and common intention; two acquitted; lengthy prison terms imposed.
Criminal law — Murder — elements of murder (death, unlawfulness, malice aforethought, participation); Identification by single eyewitness at night — caution and corroboration; Doctrine of common intention — presence, conduct and prior meeting as basis for joint liability; Alibi defence — prosecution duty to disprove; Sentencing — application of Sentencing Guidelines, death penalty not imposed, long custodial terms with remand deductions.
23 August 2022
Appellate court upheld sentence and compensatory order under s.197, correcting compensation to UGX 69,300,000.
Criminal law — Appeal against sentence — appellate restraint; interference only for manifest excess or procedural irregularity
Magistrates Courts Act, s.197 — Power to order compensation in criminal proceedings where civilly recoverable loss is proved
Evidence — proof of loss and partial repayment justifying compensatory order and rectification of miscalculation
Sentencing — offences of obtaining by false pretences and personation — sentences within statutory maxima and not excessive
18 August 2022
17 August 2022
First appeal: court held borrower had repaid loan, documents wrongfully withheld; agent's acts bound lender; damages upheld.
Civil procedure — Section 34(1) Civil Procedure Act — when execution issues require proceedings in executing court; Evidence — proof of payment — receipts and loan statements; Agency — liability for acts of agents/co-agents and adverse inference for failure to call material witness; Damages — assessment of general damages for loss of title documents and consequential inconvenience.
17 August 2022
16 August 2022
15 August 2022
15 August 2022
15 August 2022
Court clarifies status quo allowing applicant’s farming works, refuses contempt sanctions, and orders parties to bear own costs.
Civil procedure — contempt of court — requirements: existence of lawful order, knowledge, disobedience — interpretation of interlocutory status-quo orders; status quo clarification permitting farming and related works (water dams, fencing, tree planting) on occupied portion; police buffer zone to be maintained; validity of registered power of attorney; curtailing multiplicity of interlocutory proceedings.
15 August 2022
9 August 2022
July 2022
Bank breached fiduciary duty by failing to inform customer of fraud‑investigation outcome; damages awarded despite no bank participation in fraud.
Banking law
— Banker‑customer relationship — Duty of care and fiduciary duty — Failure to notify customer of fraud‑investigation outcome
— Unauthorized debit via Visa card — Liability where bank did not participate in fraud but relied on agent (Visa) investigations
19 July 2022
A certificate of urgency was granted to avert imminent sale of disputed property during court vacation pending an injunction application.
Civil procedure — certificate of urgency — property sale — pending interlocutory injunction — requirements for urgency — irreparable harm — commercial interest — court vacation — dispensation of civil proceeding restrictions.
19 July 2022
Eyewitness identification and medical and age evidence, corroborated, supported conviction for aggravated defilement of a young child.
Criminal law — Aggravated defilement — elements: victim under 14, sexual penetration, accused's participation — single identifying witness; caution required — medical corroboration; alibi and disputed police statement.
19 July 2022
Extension of time to appeal granted where prisoner showed promptness, no dilatory conduct and plausible grounds despite ignorance of law.
Criminal procedure — extension of time to appeal — sufficient cause required — prisoners’ remedy under s.30 to lodge appeal via prison officer; discretion exercised where delay is prompt, no dilatory conduct and prospects of success plausible.
12 July 2022
COVID‑19 lockdown tolled filing time, but unexplained post‑lockdown delay justified denial of extension; appeal dismissed.
Tax law — Appeals procedure — Extension of time to apply for review — Effect of COVID‑19 lockdown on limitation periods
Statutory interpretation — Conflicting time limits — 30 days from service v six months from taxation decision — Harmonious construction favoured for notified/unnotified decisions
Civil procedure — Extension of time — Discretionary grounds (illness, absence, any other reasonable cause) and deference to Tribunal’s exercise of discretion
12 July 2022
June 2022
Applicant failed to prove possession of attached land; inconsistencies led to dismissal and costs to respondents.
Civil Procedure Act s.44; Order 22 Rules 55–56 CPR — Objector application to release attached land — Issue: possession (not ownership) at time of attachment — burden to prove possession and interest — cross-examination revealing material inconsistencies can defeat claim — application dismissed with costs.
29 June 2022
Applicants as newly registered proprietors may be joined as plaintiffs and permitted to amend the plaint.
Civil procedure — Joinder of parties — Order 1 r.10(2) CPR — Addition of persons who ought to have been joined to enable complete adjudication and avoid multiplicity of suits. Property law — Registered proprietor substituted following consent judgment — effect on ongoing suit. Amendment of pleadings — leave to amend plaint to reflect change in legal interest
Relief — timelines for amendment and responses; costs to abide outcome of main suit
29 June 2022
Court revoked joint grant, issued fresh letters to applicants and ordered respondents evicted to protect estate administration.
Succession law — Revocation of letters of administration for inoperative or conflict-affected grants; fresh grant to original applicants without re-proving probate matters; eviction and enforcement of estate decrees; procedural compliance — late affidavit liable to be struck out; abatement of unserved/non-prosecuted stay application.
29 June 2022
Applicants granted unconditional leave to appear and defend due to bona fide triable disputes on guarantorship, amounts, interest, and arbitration.
Order 36 — Leave to appear and defend — Bona fide triable issues — Validity of arbitration clause — Guarantorship after variation of loan terms — Dispute as to amount and interest — Alleged default — Effect of related suit.
28 June 2022
23 June 2022
23 June 2022
Circumstantial and single-witness evidence upheld convictions of two accused for murder; two others acquitted due to insufficient proof.
Criminal law — Murder — Circumstantial evidence and single identifying witness — Sufficiency of circumstantial proof to exclude reasonable hypothesis of innocence — Presence near scene while armed insufficient alone to convict — Sentence: aggravating (lure/brutality) and mitigating (age, first offenders) considerations; remand credit applied.
16 June 2022
15 June 2022
The plaintiff proved driver negligence and employer vicarious liability and was awarded vehicle, mesne profits, special and general damages.
Negligence — duty, breach and causation; vicarious liability of employer for employee driver; quantum — replacement vehicle, loss of use (mesne profits), special and general damages; admissible proof — accident sketch, photographs, inspection report; interest and costs.
2 June 2022
The plaintiff proved driver negligence and owner vicarious liability, receiving vehicle replacement, mesne profits, special and general damages.
Motor vehicle negligence; duty of care and breach; vicarious liability of owner for employee driver; quantum of damages — vehicle replacement, loss of use/mesne profits, special towing costs, general damages; interest and costs.
2 June 2022
May 2022
Plaintiff entitled to unpaid commission and damages after court found defendant’s inconsistent pricing and irregular deductions.
Employment law — commission disputes — verbal price instructions and inconsistent pricing; estoppel; burden of proof; irregular deductions from commission; counterclaim for business loss dismissed.
20 May 2022
Oral pricing instructions and employer mismanagement precluded a successful deduction of alleged sales losses from the employee's commission.
Employment law — commission claims — oral pricing instructions and variable prices; estoppel; employer mismanagement and irregular deductions; dismissal of counterclaim for alleged loss.
20 May 2022
Employer’s poor management and irregular deductions led to award of unpaid commission; counterclaim for losses dismissed.
Employment law — commission entitlement; sales pricing and verbal instructions; estoppel against employer denying price communications; irregular deductions from commission; counterclaim for employer losses dismissed for failure of proof
20 May 2022
A plaintiff who proved purchase and title on the balance of probabilities was awarded injunction, title protection and nominal damages; counterclaim dismissed.
Land law — ownership dispute — party living abroad sending funds through relatives to purchase land — evidential weight of sale agreements and title documents
Fraud — standard of proof on balance of probabilities — alleged forgery vs. dishonest appropriation of family-purchased property
Reliefs — injunction, vacation of caveat, declaration of title, nominal damages and costs
Evidence — credibility of witnesses and discrediting of seller’s testimony
20 May 2022
20 May 2022
April 2022
Applicant failed to prove defective service or a bona fide triable issue; appeal to set aside summary decree dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — Summary judgment and setting aside ex parte decree — Service on adult family member under Order 5 rules 13, 14 and 16 — Requirement to show bona fide triable issue for leave to appear and defend under Order 36.
26 April 2022
Default summary decree upheld where substituted service was effective and no bona fide triable issue was shown.
Civil procedure — summary judgment — setting aside ex parte/summary decree — substituted service on adult family member under Order 5 rules 13, 14 and 16 — requirement to show bona fide triable issue under Order 36 rule 4
26 April 2022
A voluntary, corroborated confession plus last‑seen evidence established guilt for murder; life imprisonment applied where death penalty was not justified.
Criminal law — Murder — elements: death, unlawfulness, malice aforethought, and participation; application of ‘last seen’ doctrine
Evidence — Confession/Charge and Caution Statement — trial‑within‑a‑trial, voluntariness, language competency, signature and corroboration. Forensic evidence — post‑mortem confirming strangulation as cause of death
Sentencing — capital offences: application of Sentencing Guidelines; factors weighing against death; life imprisonment imposed
19 April 2022
Retracted confessions found voluntary and corroborated; two accused convicted of five murders, third acquitted; life sentences imposed.
Criminal law — murder: admissibility and voluntariness of charge-and-caution statements; retracted/repudiated confessions; corroboration by circumstantial evidence and prior threats; common intention; sufficiency of evidence against co-accused; sentencing — life imprisonment vs death sentence.
19 April 2022
Application dismissed as served out of time; service timelines are mandatory and unauthorised advocate affidavits struck out.
Civil procedure — Service of summons — Order 5 r.1(2) CPR — 21‑day service requirement — exclusion of 24 Dec–15 Jan (Order 5 r.4) — failure to seek extension in time renders process a non‑starter; Constitutional provision (Art.126(2)(e)) does not negate procedural compliance
Evidence — Affidavits — Advocate may not swear contentious affidavits on behalf of party absent written authorisation — such affidavits are defective and liable to be struck out
14 April 2022
Conviction for aggravated robbery based on reliable eyewitness identification and satisfactory identification parade, despite disputed age and torture claims.
Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence and identification parade — Reliability of eyewitness identification in adequate lighting and close proximity — Proof of age by birth certificate — Allegations of torture and coerced admissions
4 April 2022
March 2022
A voluntary confession corroborated by threats and conduct established murder; intoxication defence failed; sentence imposed (remand deducted).
Criminal law — Murder — Confession — voluntariness and corroboration; prior threats and conduct as corroborative evidence; intoxication not negating intent; sentencing under Ugandan Sentencing Guidelines (death only in rarest of rare).
23 March 2022