High Court of Uganda

The High Court of Uganda is the third court of record in order of hierarchy and has unlimited original jurisdiction, which means that it can try any case of any value or crime of any magnitude. Appeals from all Magistrates Courts go to the High Court. 

The High Court is headed by the Honorable Principal Judge who is responsible for the administration of the court and has supervisory powers over Magistrate's courts. 

Physical address
Plot 2, the Square Kampala
189 judgments

Court registries

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189 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
February 2025
27 February 2025
26 February 2025
25 February 2025
18 February 2025
10 February 2025
10 February 2025
Whether returning a different but similar chattel amounts to conversion and procedural consequences of failing to file a defence.
Civil procedure – failure to file defence – ex parte proceedings – party excluded from proceedings if defence not filed in time; Evidence – conversion of chattels – requires permanent or indefinite deprivation; Evidence – translation and admissibility of documents – s.88 CPA; Appeals – time for filing and extraction of decree.
3 February 2025
Court finds defendants 1–3 liable for fraudulent land sale; orders refund, damages, interest and cancellation of title.
* Property law – fraudulent sale and misrepresentation – sale procured using deceased person’s name – registration of title in the name of a deceased person is null and void. * Evidence – burden and proof of fraud – specific pleading and strict proof required; conviction on balance of probabilities where evidence establishes deliberate misrepresentation. * Remedies – rescission/failed consideration (refund of purchase price), general damages, interest, costs and cancellation of certificate of title.
3 February 2025
Court granted a conditional stay of execution pending appeal, requiring UGX 200,000,000 security due to insufficient proof of applicants' loss.
Land law – stay of execution pending appeal – O.43 r.4(3) CPR; requirements: lodgment, likelihood of success, no unreasonable delay, substantial loss; proof of occupation and ownership; security for due performance; alienation of land during pendency undermining applicants' claim.
3 February 2025
3 February 2025
Appeal allowed: trial court erred in equating disputed land with earlier suit; retrial ordered for proper ascertainment of location.
Land law – ownership dispute over unregistered land – evaluation of evidence and locus in quo – inconsistencies in village/parish descriptions – issue of estoppel by prior testimony – retrial ordered for miscarriage of justice.
3 February 2025
Plaintiffs proved ownership; defendants were trespassers — eviction, injunction and damages awarded; tree compensation unproven.
Land law – title dispute between community farmers and clan members; burden of proof in civil claims; admissibility of local government Adhoc Committee report as public document under the Evidence Act; possession versus ownership; remedies – declaration, injunction, eviction, general damages and costs; representative action.
3 February 2025
3 February 2025
Appointment of kingdom officials during the monarch’s incapacitation did not, on the evidence, constitute contempt or appointment of a regent under the injunction.
Contempt — appointment of kingdom officials during monarch’s incapacity — injunction limited to appointment of regents under Draft Principles for the Regency; administrative appointments to assist during incapacitation do not automatically constitute regency or contempt; substantive legality reserved for main suit.
3 February 2025
3 February 2025
Appellants’ registered title upheld; purchases from trespassers cannot confer valid land interests; respondent declared trespasser.
Land — Ownership and title rectification — Fraudulent transfer — Bibanja/kibanja purchases — Effect of purchases from trespassers — Appellate re-evaluation of evidence — Permanent injunction and eviction — General damages and interest.
3 February 2025
January 2025
31 January 2025
Application dismissed for non‑service; garnishee nisi set aside to protect government funds earmarked for beneficiary groups.
* Civil Procedure – Service of motions – O.5 r.2, O.5 r.3 and O.52 r.2 CPR – non‑service of application results in dismissal. * Execution – Garnishee proceedings against government/local government accounts – protection of funds earmarked for specific beneficiaries; setting aside garnishee nisi to prevent diversion of public programme funds. * Public law tension – execution of judgments against government agencies and implications for public funds and programmes.
31 January 2025
Applicant failed to show sufficient cause to reinstate an appeal dismissed for want of prosecution.
Civil procedure – Order 43 r.31 CPR – dismissal for want of prosecution – Order 43 silent on reinstatement – Section 98 CPA and Section 33 Judicature Act permit applications to reinstate; sufficient cause – applicant’s sickness and counsel’s duty to prosecute; failure to show sufficient cause – application dismissed with costs.
31 January 2025
31 January 2025
31 January 2025
31 January 2025
31 January 2025
31 January 2025
25 January 2025
24 January 2025
24 January 2025
24 January 2025
24 January 2025
24 January 2025
24 January 2025
17 January 2025
17 January 2025
17 January 2025
17 January 2025
17 January 2025
17 January 2025
17 January 2025
17 January 2025
17 January 2025
17 January 2025
17 January 2025
10 January 2025
10 January 2025
10 January 2025
10 January 2025
10 January 2025
A Registrar lacks jurisdiction to grant stay of execution of a judge’s decree; such orders are void.
Civil procedure – Stay of execution – Jurisdiction to grant stay of execution lies with the court that passed the decree (O.43 r.4(2) CPR) – Limits of Registrars’ powers (O.50 CPR and Practice Directions) – Validity of notices of appeal and time limits for appeals.
3 January 2025
December 2024
20 December 2024
20 December 2024