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Citation
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Judgment date
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| June 2023 |
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1 June 2023 |
| May 2023 |
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Court rectified taxed bill of costs under Section 99 to correct a mathematical slip, reducing the total and fixing the outstanding balance.
* Civil Procedure – Section 99 Civil Procedure Act – correction of mathematical errors and accidental slips in judgments/orders. * Slip rule – court must give effect to its intention at delivery of judgment. * Taxation of costs – recalculation and variation of taxed items (items 109–122) where appellate directions were unclear. * Effect of prior concession/part-payment on rectification applications.
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31 May 2023 |
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Stay of execution denied where applicant failed to prove substantial loss or occupation of disputed land.
Civil procedure - Stay of execution pending appeal - Requirements include notice of appeal, substantial loss, promptness, security - Imminent threat of execution - Burden to prove possession and irreparable loss - Failure to provide evidence or rejoinder warrants dismissal.
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31 May 2023 |
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Stay of execution refused: applicant failed to show prima facie success or substantial loss; application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – Stay of execution pending appeal – Requirements: notice of appeal, prima facie case/likelihood of success, substantial loss, promptness, and security – For second appeals a proposed memorandum assists assessment – Unrebutted assertions of abandonment and evasive conduct negate substantial loss – Application dismissed with costs.
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30 May 2023 |
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A fraudulently procured grant concealing a valid will may be revoked; title entries cancelled, caveat vacated and trespass remedies granted.
* Succession law – Validity of wills – attestation and execution requirements; will admitted and held valid.
* Succession law – Revocation of grants – Letters of Administration may be revoked for fraud under Section 234; concealment of a will is fraud.
* Property law – Gifts inter vivos – requirements and effect; beneficiaries who took possession acquire proprietary interest.
* Tort/Property – Trespass – interference with possession gives rise to remedy; eviction and injunction appropriate.
* Land registration – Registration procured through a fraudulently obtained grant may be cancelled; caveat improperly lodged may be vacated.
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30 May 2023 |
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High Court set aside LCII and Chief Magistrate orders because dispute concerned succession outside LCII jurisdiction.
* Civil procedure – Revision under s.83 Civil Procedure Act – High Court may call for records where subordinate court exercised jurisdiction not vested in law or acted with illegality or material irregularity.
* Jurisdiction – Local Council II courts – limits regarding succession/estate matters; succession disputes fall under the Succession Act and are not triable by LCII.
* Execution – Magistrates’ consent to execute a nullity judgment amounts to exercise of jurisdiction not vested in law.
* Nullity – Judgment delivered by a court lacking jurisdiction is void and may be set aside on revision.
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30 May 2023 |
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26 May 2023 |
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23 May 2023 |
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Court reinstated an appeal dismissed for want of prosecution, accepting the applicant’s illness and exercising discretion under section 98.
Civil procedure — Reinstatement of appeal dismissed for want of prosecution; section 17(2) Judicature Act; court’s discretionary power under section 98 Civil Procedure Act; sufficient cause — illness; failure to extract decree by lay appellant.
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22 May 2023 |
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Court allowed reinstatement of an appeal dismissed for want of prosecution due to applicant’s illness and excused procedural omissions.
Civil procedure – reinstatement of appeal dismissed for want of prosecution under s.17(2) Judicature Act – court’s power under s.98 Civil Procedure Act to grant relief – sufficient cause due to illness – excusing procedural omission to extract decree by lay litigant.
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22 May 2023 |
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Court found plaintiffs held customary title; land fraudulently registered; titles cancelled; purchasers not bona fide; damages awarded.
Land law – customary tenure proved by purchase and continued use – fraudulent procurement of title through a fictitious company and coercion – bona fide purchaser for value without notice doctrine: need for vendor to have apparent valid title and for purchaser to have performed due diligence – cancellation of title, eviction, damages and costs ordered.
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17 May 2023 |
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Stay of execution refused where the applicant delayed, failed to prove substantial loss, and raised weak appeal grounds.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Requirements: notice of appeal; substantial loss; promptness; security for due performance; threat of execution; likelihood appeal not frivolous — Affidavit in reply filed out of time may be struck off if no sufficient reason given.
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17 May 2023 |
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The respondent convicted of aggravated defilement on child, medical and corroborative evidence; sentenced to 20 years (remand credited).
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement: elements (age, sexual act, identity); child witness corroboration (Evidence Act ss 155,156) and practice warnings; medical evidence and distressed condition as corroboration; credibility of alibi; sentencing under Sentencing Guidelines and remand credit.
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12 May 2023 |
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Accused convicted of rape based on circumstantial evidence of drugging-induced unconsciousness; sentenced with remand credit.
• Criminal law – Rape: elements (sexual act, lack of consent, identity of perpetrator) • Consent: drugging/unconsciousness negates voluntary consent • Corroboration: immediate reporting and accused's conduct can corroborate complainant's testimony • Circumstantial evidence: permissible to convict where alternative hypotheses excluded • Sentencing: application of sentencing guidelines for capital offences and remand credit
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12 May 2023 |
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10 May 2023 |
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Applicant’s salary suspension and IPPS entries were procedurally flawed and unjustified; court quashed those decisions, ordered rectification, reinstatement and damages.
Administrative law – Judicial review – amenability where administrative remedies pursued; Procedural fairness – statutory notification before suspension for alleged abandonment of duty; Public service – capacity of District Service Commission; Payroll/IPPS entries – unlawful/irrational alteration and rectification; Remedies – quashing, rectification, reinstatement, general damages and costs.
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10 May 2023 |
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Applicant failed to prove administrator authority and comply with statutory pre-action notice; caveat removal application dismissed.
Registration of Titles Act s.140 – application to vacate caveat; Administrator General Act s.22 – pre-action written notice; Burden to prove authority – Letters of Administration; Protection of co-owners’ interests when removing caveats.
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10 May 2023 |
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Indirect and non-monetary spousal contributions can justify a share of matrimonial property; 70/30 division upheld.
Matrimonial property — characterization of property acquired during marriage — direct and indirect (non-monetary) contributions — apportionment of matrimonial assets — appellate re-appraisal of credibility; ex parte proceedings on proof of service.
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9 May 2023 |
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Applicant failed to prove equitable title or valid special certificate; trial court’s finding for respondent upheld and appeal dismissed.
* Land law – proof of title – equitable interest by gift – necessity of documentary proof.
* Registration of Titles – special and substitute certificates – requirement to explain procedure and produce application documents.
* Priority of registration – not determinative where underlying title and documentary evidence are deficient.
* Vacant land – vacancy at time of sale does not automatically confer good title without proper investigation.
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8 May 2023 |
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Beneficiaries’ land claims dismissed as time‑barred; pleaded fraud did not toll limitation.
Limitation of actions – Section 20 Limitation Act – claims to shares in a deceased’s estate; Section 25 fraud exception – suspension of limitation requires pleaded discovery/concealment; Order 7 Rule 11(d) – rejection of plaint barred by law; preliminary objections – court considers plaint alone.
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8 May 2023 |
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5 May 2023 |
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The Plaintiff's land claim was dismissed as res judicata because identical occupation issues were decided in an earlier suit.
Civil procedure – res judicata; Section 7 Civil Procedure Act – matter directly and substantially in issue previously heard and finally decided; property law – right to occupy and use estate land; torts – trespass and nuisance cannot succeed where prior judgment established defendants' lawful occupation; identity of parties – substantial similarity suffices.
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5 May 2023 |
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Court granted stay of execution pending appeal, admitting late affidavit and uncommissioned annexes and excusing delay due to counsel’s negligence.
Civil procedure – stay of execution pending appeal; discretion to admit late affidavits under Section 96; admissibility of uncommissioned annexes; criteria for stay (notice of appeal, substantial loss, promptness, security); excuse of delay due to lawyer negligence; likelihood of success where relief awarded was not pleaded.
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5 May 2023 |
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5 May 2023 |
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2 May 2023 |
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2 May 2023 |
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Whether circumstantial evidence and the accused’s conduct established murder beyond reasonable doubt.
* Criminal law – Murder – Elements: death, unlawful act, malice aforethought, causation. * Circumstantial evidence – sufficiency and inference of guilt where direct testimony absent. * Forensic evidence – post-mortem report indicating strangulation. * Defence – alibi and unsworn statements assessed for credibility. * Conduct after offence – use of accused’s actions and location of body to infer participation.
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2 May 2023 |
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Daylight identification, flight, and DNA on a blood-stained shirt established murder and liability under common intention.
* Criminal law – Murder – Elements: death, unlawfulness, malice aforethought, perpetrator’s participation. * Evidence – Circumstantial evidence and identification – eyewitness identification at daylight, flight, possession of blood-stained clothing. * Forensic evidence – DNA on accused’s clothing matching deceased. * Liability – Common intention (Section 20, Penal Code Act).
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2 May 2023 |
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Circumstantial evidence (phone, panga, conduct, recovery of head) sufficed to convict the accused of murder under common intention.
Criminal law – Murder; circumstantial evidence; admissibility of extra-judicial statements; non-production of exhibit not fatal; doctrine of common intention.
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2 May 2023 |
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Circumstantial evidence proved the accused’s guilt for murder despite minor medical inconsistencies.
* Criminal law – Murder – Elements: death, unlawful act, malice aforethought and identification of perpetrator. * Circumstantial evidence – sufficiency test; incompatibility of exculpatory facts with innocence. * Medical evidence – post‑mortem, photographs and clinical observations; weight of inconsistent or omitted findings.
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2 May 2023 |
| April 2023 |
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28 April 2023 |
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26 April 2023 |
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Sale conducted without lodgement of titles and based on set‑aside ex parte judgment was illegal; titles cancelled and ownership restored.
Land law – Execution and sale of immovable property – Mandatory requirement to lodge duplicate or special certificate of title before sale (Section 48 Civil Procedure Act) – Noncompliance renders sale void ab initio – Effect of execution based on set‑aside ex parte judgment – Cancellation of irregularly issued special certificates and restoration of title.
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26 April 2023 |
Land Law—Certificate of title—cancellation by Commissioner—power under Section 91 of Land Act—error in issuance—existing court order—second title improperly issued—no fraud found—bona fide purchaser claim irrelevant—notice duly served—fair hearing satisfied—appeal dismissed
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26 April 2023 |
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Respondent’s possession (not registered title) established trespass; appellants’ customary claim extinguished by long adverse possession.
Civil procedure – first appeal duties to re-hear and re-appraise evidence; Land law – trespass to land requires proof of possession (actual or constructive) not necessarily registered title; Possession established by enclosure and continuous, open, exclusive acts; Customary land rights extinguished by long inaction, adverse possession and laches.
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23 April 2023 |
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20 April 2023 |
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20 April 2023 |
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19 April 2023 |
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Court found the first respondent in civil contempt, struck him from the suit and sentenced him to three months' imprisonment.
Contempt of court — civil contempt — elements: existence of lawful order, knowledge, disobedience; service and proof of knowledge; land searches — registers public; sanctions for contempt — striking out, committal to civil prison; preservation of administration of justice.
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18 April 2023 |
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Applicant’s application granted: land recovery claim rejected as time-barred under the Limitation Act.
Limitation Act (Cap 80) – accrual of right of action on dispossession – s5 and s6 – adverse possession – plaint liable to rejection under Order 7 r11(d) where suit to recover land is time-barred.
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18 April 2023 |
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Defendant found a lawful occupant of 3.98 acres; plaintiffs’ trespass claim dismissed for failure to conduct due diligence.
* Land law – trespass – requirement that claimant be in possession to sue in trespass; * Lawful/bonafide occupant (kibanja) – protection of existing interests against subsequent registered title; * Purchaser’s due diligence – visible structures/occupants impose duty to inquire; * Evidence and survey conflict – measurement and credibility determinations; * Relief – dismissal, limitation of activities to measured lawful occupation, costs.
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18 April 2023 |
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Consent judgment signed by the appellant without translation or certificate was void; matter remitted for retrial.
Family law – Consent judgment – Validity where signed by an illiterate without translation or certificate – Requirements of the Illiterates Protection Act; Civil procedure – Appeal from dismissal of application to set aside consent judgment – appealability and time limits; Remittal for retrial before different judicial officer.
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18 April 2023 |
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Application dismissed for late service of chamber summons and improper procedural route against ex parte taxation.
Civil procedure — service of chamber summons — Order 5 r1(1)-(3) — late service (two and a half years) without extension renders application incompetent; Taxation of costs — ex parte taxation — remedy is application to set aside under Order 9 r27 (not appeal); Advocates’ remuneration regulations — dispute over applicability of SI No.7 of 2018 left undetermined due to procedural disposal.
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18 April 2023 |
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Appellant failed to prove assault or that the respondents caused his unlawful arrest; appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil appeal – burden of proof on balance of probabilities – identification evidence at night – alibi defence shifts evidential burden – reporting suspected offence to police lawful – police discretion and arrest powers under Police Act and Constitution – unlawful arrest claim requires concrete proof of causation.
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8 April 2023 |
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Appellate court quashed judgment and ordered retrial because a defendant’s evidence was not heard, denying a fair trial.
Land law – title and possession – appellate review of trial proceedings; Civil procedure – amendment of pleadings – requirement of proof of filing; Right to fair hearing – failure to receive defendant’s evidence and absence of recorded reasons vitiates trial; Appellate powers – quash judgment and order retrial under s.80 Civil Procedure Act.
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5 April 2023 |
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Appellant estopped from denying broker’s apparent authority; respondent acquired good title to the disputed unregistered plot.
Land law – ownership of unregistered land; Agency – express, implied and apparent authority; Estoppel – Section 114 Evidence Act; Burden of proof – balance of probabilities in civil land disputes; Evidentiary weight of local council testimony and public advertisement in establishing agency and notice.
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1 April 2023 |
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Arrest of an unregistered attorney did not excuse non-attendance; five days' notice sufficed; ex parte taxation set aside.
Civil procedure – setting aside ex parte judgment; sufficiency of cause for non-attendance; Power of Attorney – registration requirement under Registration of Documents Act and Registration of Titles Act; Service of hearing notices – adequacy of five days’ notice; Taxation of costs – irregular ex parte taxation set aside and re-taxation ordered interparty.
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1 April 2023 |
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A presidential directive eliminating an unlawful local taxation frustrated the contract; no damages or costs awarded to the applicant.
* Constitutional law – presidential directives – exercise of presidential duty to protect citizens' property under Article 26.
* Contract law – discharge by operation of law/frustration where underlying scheme is illegal or oppressive.
* Illegality – unenforceability of contracts based on unlawful taxation or oppressive local revenue schemes.
* Damages and costs – no entitlement where contract is frustrated/illegal.
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1 April 2023 |
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An administrator of one estate cannot lawfully be registered as administrator of a different estate; such registration and dealings are unlawful.
• Succession law – letters of administration are estate-specific; administrator of one estate has no authority over another estate.
• Registration of Titles – certificate of title shows ownership but registration obtained using incorrect letters of administration may be unlawful.
• Remedies – High Court may order cancellation of improperly created certificates of title, award damages and injunctive relief; appointment of administrators must follow statutory procedure.
• Evidence – lack of pleaded particulars of fraud does not prevent finding registration unlawful where title history and statutory principles show impropriety.
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1 April 2023 |
| March 2023 |
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Court granted conditional stay of execution pending appeal, requiring Ushs 30,000,000 security to preserve the appeal.
Civil procedure – Stay of execution pending appeal – Order 43 rule 4 – requirements: substantial loss, promptness, security for due performance; preservation of appeal – security as condition to prevent nugatory appeal; Article 126(2)(e) – substantive justice over technicalities.
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31 March 2023 |