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Citation
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Judgment date
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| 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 |
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31 March 2023 |
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31 March 2023 |
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31 March 2023 |
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Temporary municipal allocation created a license extinguished on departure; respondent's customary ownership and possession upheld.
Customary land – ownership and effect of temporary municipal allocations; Licensee versus bona fide occupant under land law; Requirement of letters of administration to sue on deceased’s alleged estate rights; First appeal – reappraisal of evidence.
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31 March 2023 |
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31 March 2023 |
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31 March 2023 |
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30 March 2023 |
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30 March 2023 |
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27 March 2023 |
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24 March 2023 |
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24 March 2023 |
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22 March 2023 |
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22 March 2023 |
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21 March 2023 |
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Appeal against refusal of temporary injunction dismissed: irreparable harm not proved and balance of convenience favored respondent.
Civil procedure – Temporary injunction – Purpose to preserve status quo – Requirement to establish status quo on locus in quo. Interim relief – Conditions for injunction: prima facie case, irreparable injury, balance of convenience
Evidence – Proceedings on affidavit and role of locus in quo visit. Weight of undisputed sale agreement and payment of consideration in balancing convenience. Appellate review – Caution in disturbing trial factual findings but power to re-evaluate where appropriate
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21 March 2023 |
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Fraudulent transfers vitiate title; court ordered cancellation, reinstatement of plaintiff's title, injunctions, damages and costs.
Property law – Registration of titles – Fraud vitiating transfer; forensic evidence of forged documents; instantaneous transfers as indicia of collusion; purchaser’s duty to inquire when land is in occupation; cancellation and substitution of certificate of title under Registration of Titles Act; damages and injunctions for fraudulent registration.
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20 March 2023 |
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Respondent vicariously liable for its driver's negligence causing the applicant's injuries; damages awarded, punitive damages denied.
Negligence – duty of care and breach by driver; Causation – injuries caused by negligent driving; Vicarious liability – employer liable for employee's torts committed in course of employment; Damages – proof and assessment of special, general and compensatory damages; Punitive damages – declined where vicarious liability and partial payment exist.
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20 March 2023 |
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17 March 2023 |
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17 March 2023 |
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17 March 2023 |
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17 March 2023 |
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16 March 2023 |
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15 March 2023 |
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14 March 2023 |
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Court revoked defendants’ letters of administration for concealing a proved will and ordered distribution according to the will.
Succession law – probate and letters of administration – validity of prior grant of probate until set aside – revocation of letters of administration for concealment of a will under S.234 Succession Act – failure to challenge probate – costs and remedies.
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11 March 2023 |
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9 March 2023 |
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9 March 2023 |
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Appellate court held encroachment beyond a purchased half-acre was continuing trespass and not wholly time-barred; appeal allowed.
Land law – Trespass – continuing tort; Limitation Act – application to recovery of land of a deceased person; Evidence – parties bound by pleadings; Locus in quo – evaluation of boundary evidence; Procedural fairness – reliance on submissions not on record and perceived bias.
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9 March 2023 |
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7 March 2023 |
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7 March 2023 |
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3 March 2023 |
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3 March 2023 |
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3 March 2023 |
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2 March 2023 |
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2 March 2023 |
| February 2023 |
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Appellate court affirms trial finding that the appellant blocked a public access road; appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil appeal — appellate duty to reevaluate evidence — trial court advantage of seeing and hearing witnesses; Evidence — locus in quo inspection and witness testimony as basis for finding obstruction of a public access road; Credibility — conflicting witness accounts assessed and weighed; Procedural irregularity — minor mislabelling of witnesses not necessarily fatal to judgment.
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28 February 2023 |
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Appellate court upheld respondent’s title based on family gift document and locus visit, dismissing the appeal.
Land dispute – locus inquo compliance and sketch plan; boundary identification – stone versus ridge/trees; credibility of witnesses; family meeting record as evidence of gift of land; insufficiency of sale agreements lacking boundaries or proper witnessing.
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28 February 2023 |
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A contemnor may be heard and a stay of execution granted where execution threatens to render a pending appeal nugatory.
Stay of execution — discretion to hear contemnor — contemnor need not always purge contempt before being heard — competency of notice of appeal for strike-out under appellate rules — stay where serious threat of execution may render appeal nugatory.
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28 February 2023 |
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A later suit re-litigating matters settled by a consent decree is barred by res judicata and the Limitation Act.
Civil procedure – res judicata – claim and issue preclusion where same parties and identical issue resolved by earlier competent court. Consent judgment/memorandum of settlement – binding and enforceable once endorsed by court; can only be set aside on grounds that vitiate agreement
Limitation – action upon a judgment barred after twelve years under s.3(3) Limitation Act
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28 February 2023 |
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A plaint under Article 50 must plead a specific constitutional right infringement; failure to do so warrants dismissal as disclosing no cause of action.
Constitutional litigation — Article 50 — Claim must plead infringement or threat to a specific fundamental right or freedom; general regulatory complaints insufficient. Civil procedure — Preliminary objection/strike out — Pleading must disclose a cause of action; plaint failing this ground is liable to dismissal. Administrative law — Exhaustion of statutory/administrative remedies — Where specific procedures exist for removal of road encroachments, those remedies should be pursued before court action. Roads law — Statutory powers of roads authority to manage road reserves and remove obstructions
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28 February 2023 |
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Mortgagee who complied with statutory default procedures entitled to vacant possession, eviction of mortgagor, and costs.
Mortgage law – Mortgage Act – compliance with Section 19 default notice requirement and exercise of remedy of sale under Section 20(e)
Possession – entitlement of mortgagee to vacant possession and to evict mortgagor/agents after lawful sale to purchaser for value. Civil procedure – uncontested averments – effect of defendant’s failure to file reply or appear; costs awarded to successful party
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28 February 2023 |
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Mortgagee entitled to vacant possession and eviction after statutory default notice and sale; costs awarded to mortgagee.
Mortgage law – Mortgage Act s.19 compliance and s.20 sale; entitlement to vacant possession and eviction; ex parte determination where defendant defaults; costs under Civil Procedure Act s.27.
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28 February 2023 |
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Applicant failed to show a bona fide triable issue or particularised defence to resist enforcement of a loan debt.
Civil procedure – Section 98 CPA, Order 36 r.2 and Order 52 r.1 & r.3 – leave to appear and defend; requirement of a bona fide triable issue and a defence pleaded with particularity; loan agreement enforcement – proof of payments and computation of interest and penalties; failure to rebut documentary evidence.
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28 February 2023 |
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27 February 2023 |
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An appeal filed beyond the 30‑day statutory period without good cause is incompetent and dismissed.
Appeals – Civil Procedure Act s.79 – time for filing memorandum of appeal – requirement to take essential steps to prosecute appeal – good cause for extension – incompetence of late-filed appeal.
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27 February 2023 |
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25 February 2023 |