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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2024 |
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Applicant executors removed co‑executor for admitted intermeddling and unlawful distribution; interlocutory probate granted subject to proof.
Succession law – removal of executor – intermeddling in estate and unlawful distribution – validity and timing of caveat – enlargement of time for lodging caveats – interlocutory probate subject to proof of execution.
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30 March 2024 |
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Appellate court found trial magistrate misapplied evidence, declared the applicant owner and ordered respondent to vacate and pay costs.
Land law – customary tenure and proof of ownership by long possession and use; evidence – parties bound by pleadings; departure from pleadings – afterthought evidence to be rejected; credibility – material inconsistencies and contradictions; locus in quo – proper interpretation of physical features and map in determining boundaries and possession.
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28 March 2024 |
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Appellant’s title based on a defective gift was voidable for fraud; respondents hold beneficial interest in undivided family land.
Land law – family/clan land and beneficial interest; proof of gift inter vivos (intention, delivery, acceptance); indefeasibility of title subject to fraud (Registration of Titles Act ss.59,176(c)); locus in quo evidence; limitation for appeals (s.79 CPA).
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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Applicant-creditor entitled to administration; Administrator General ordered to accept grant of letters within 14 days.
Succession law – creditor’s right to administration – citation orders – Administrator General’s power and duty to obtain letters of administration – avoiding multiplicity of proceedings to protect creditors’ interests.
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28 March 2024 |
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Trial judgment quashed for procedural defects and inadmissible/unmarked vernacular evidence; retrial de novo ordered.
Civil procedure — plaint requirements and cause of action; admissibility of vernacular documents — section 88 Civil Procedure Act; marking and exhibition of documents; appellate powers to order retrial de novo; customary land versus surveyed/gazetted town land; duty to assist unrepresented litigants; costs to abide retrial.
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28 March 2024 |
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Court refused dismissal for want of prosecution; allowed hearing if plaintiff files missing documents and pays costs.
Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — Order XVII (scheduling, witness statements and trial bundles) — discretion to dismiss vs. hear on merits — sufficiency of cause (illness, service, COVID‑19, prior delays) — costs as conditional remedy; section 33 Judicature Act permits equitable terms to avoid multiplicity of proceedings.
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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A tenant in common may obtain partition and a separate title, subject to surviving spouse and family interests.
Property law – Tenancy in common – Severance and partition; separate title for departing co-owner Registration of Titles Act s56–57 – distinction between joint tenancy and tenancy in common Succession Amendment Act s16 – protection of surviving spouse’s residential interest Land (Amendment) Act s39 – spouse’s consent required for dealing in family land Partition remedies – Registrar of Titles directed to create separate title; exclusion of redeemed 20 acres; licensees’ limited interests
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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The accused was convicted of murder based on post‑mortem findings, his recorded admission and eyewitness evidence, and sentenced to 25 years.
Criminal law – Murder – Proof of death and causation – Post-mortem evidence; malice aforethought – head injuries, weapon and conduct; accused's extra‑judicial statement as evidence; sentence and credit for time served.
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28 March 2024 |
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Appellate court affirms respondent’s ownership, finds purchaser a trespasser, upholds damages, interest and costs.
Land law – ownership dispute; possessory vs proprietary rights; trespass to land and continuing trespass; limitation and laches in actions for land; bona fide purchaser and due diligence; admissibility and weight of documentary and oral family/clan evidence; award of general damages and interest.
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28 March 2024 |
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28 March 2024 |
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An executor with probate may be substituted as party to pending proceedings under Order 24 and the Succession Act.
Civil Procedure — substitution of legal representative under Order 24 where a party dies. Succession Act s.186 — effect of probate; executor steps into deceased's position. Procedure — application for substitution; ex parte consideration where respondent fails to reply. Costs — applicant to bear costs of substitution application.
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27 March 2024 |
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An application to reinstate proceedings filed against a person already deceased is incompetent and is struck out.
Civil procedure – Proceedings against deceased persons – Suit or application filed against a dead person is a nullity – Court powerless to adjudicate claims against a non-existent party. Civil procedure – Death during proceedings – Action survives only against legal representative or otherwise abates until proper substitution.
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27 March 2024 |
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Court granted conditional stay of execution pending leave to appeal, requiring deposit of security for due performance.
Civil procedure – Stay of execution – Order 43 r.4 CPR – requirements: substantial loss, absence of unreasonable delay, security for due performance – committal proceedings as imminent execution – conditional stay pending leave to appeal out of time.
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27 March 2024 |
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Taxation governed by rules in force when the costs order was made; hybrid application of new rules was unlawful.
Civil procedure – Taxation of costs – When liability to pay costs accrues – Costs liability accrues on entry of costs order (judgment), taxation determines quantum. Statutory interpretation – Amendments not expressly retrospective – SI No.7 of 2018 does not apply to earlier costs orders. Taxation – Improper to employ a ‘hybrid’ approach mixing old and new rules; taxing officer’s wrong principle justifies judicial intervention. Judicial review – Judges ordinarily defer to taxing officers unless award is manifestly excessive/low or wrong principle substantially affected quantum.
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27 March 2024 |
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27 March 2024 |
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Leave to appeal granted on arguable jurisdictional and costs issues arising from a referral to arbitration.
Arbitration law – court’s jurisdiction under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act; limits on judicial intervention in arbitration; leave to appeal – test for prima facie arguable grounds and protection of right of appeal; costs – discretion where costs are reserved to abide arbitration outcome.
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27 March 2024 |
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A defendant may include a counterclaim in an amended defence responding to an amended plaint without prior leave of court.
Civil Procedure — Pleadings and amendments — Order 6 r19; Counterclaims — Order 8 r1, r2, r7; Whether a counterclaim in an amended defence requires prior leave when filed in response to an amended plaint; Procedural law construed to facilitate justice.
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27 March 2024 |
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Court enlarged time and validated the late judicial-review filing, finding lockdown and detention constituted sufficient cause.
Judicial review – extension of time – Rule 5(1) Judicature (Judicial Review) Rules – sufficient cause; Covid-19 lockdown and arrest/detention as grounds for delay; Administrative law – interdiction – Public Service Standing Orders – failure to conclude investigations/indefinite interdiction; Civil procedure – validation of late filing – simultaneous filing of main and extension applications not fatal.
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27 March 2024 |
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An application to set aside an ex parte decree must be brought in the same court that issued the decree; hearing elsewhere is jurisdictionally improper.
Civil procedure – Jurisdiction – Application under Order 9 Rule 27 to set aside ex parte decree must be made to the court which passed the decree; proceedings heard without jurisdiction are null and void.
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27 March 2024 |
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Appeal allowed for miscarriage of justice due to defective locus inquo, failure to admit key sale agreement; retrial ordered.
Practice Direction No.1 of 2007 – locus inquo – necessity of locus minutes, attendance and properly dated/sketched plans; Evidence – admission of documents annexed to pleadings; Unrepresented litigants – duty of trial Magistrate to facilitate presentation of evidence; Service – late service excused by COVID‑19 restrictions; Retrial – where miscarriage of justice results from procedural failings.
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27 March 2024 |
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Appellant failed to prove land was family land; separation agreement allocated land and sale was valid without spousal consent.
Land law – family land – Meaning of "family land" and "ordinary residence" under Section 38A(4) of the Land Act. Spousal consent – Requirement under Section 39(1) – when consent is necessary. Property division – Validity of distribution/sharing agreements executed during separation (distinguishing domestic agreements). Evidence – evaluation of documentary evidence, witness credibility and effect of locus visit. Purchaser's title – validity of transaction where seller holds personal property.
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27 March 2024 |
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27 March 2024 |
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Appellate court set aside striking-out, finding the denial specific and not an evasive general denial.
Civil procedure – Pleadings – Striking out defenses – Order 6 r.8 and r.10 (general and evasive denials) – Order 30(1) (no reasonable answer) – First appellate court’s duty to re-evaluate findings of law and fact.
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27 March 2024 |
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26 March 2024 |
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26 March 2024 |
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26 March 2024 |
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Court allowed a final 60‑day extension to administrators to file estate inventory, warning revocation on non‑compliance.
Succession Act §278 — inventory and account; extension of time for administrators; COVID‑19 lockdowns as excuse for delay; inordinate delay and court discretion; revocation of letters under §234.
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26 March 2024 |
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26 March 2024 |
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26 March 2024 |
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26 March 2024 |
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Foreign lender's loan agreements and guaranty enforceable; defendant indebted and guarantor liable for sum with interest and costs.
Commercial law – Loan agreements – Validity and enforcement of foreign lender’s contracts and disbursement records; Mortgage and personal guarantee – Guarantor liability under Contracts Act s71; Legality of foreign lending – No prohibition on foreign financial institutions extending credit to Ugandan borrowers (Supreme Court authority); Evidence and procedure – Failure to rebut documentary evidence and abandonment of hearing precludes defence.
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25 March 2024 |
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Applicant granted unconditional leave to defend summary suit after timely filing and showing bona fide triable issues.
Civil procedure – summary suit – Order 36 (leave to appear and defend) – computation of statutory time (Interpretation Act s.34; Order 51 r.3) – requirement to show bona fide triable issue or defence – when summary judgment inappropriate.
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25 March 2024 |
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A land-title dispute alleging overlap with a forest reserve is not amenable to judicial review and must be determined by boundary opening or a regular suit.
Administrative law – extension of time for judicial review – discretion to extend time; Land law – conversion of customary tenure to freehold – allegations land within gazetted forest reserve – title and boundary disputes require boundary opening or regular suit, not judicial review.
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25 March 2024 |
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Application for leave to appeal out of time struck out as improperly brought in High Court; remedy lies in Court of Appeal.
Civil procedure – leave to appeal out of time – jurisdiction – where High Court refuses leave to appeal, applicant must apply to Court of Appeal; discretionary refusal of leave is not to be appealed in trial court; application struck out as incompetent.
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25 March 2024 |
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25 March 2024 |
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25 March 2024 |