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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1992 |
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Court grants parents guardianship for infant's property sale when it's beneficial to children's welfare.
Infant guardianship – Sale of property – Welfare of infants – Power of High Court to appoint guardians and control estates.
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18 December 1992 |
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Appeal allowed: unexplained locus visit, unsworn evidence and improper admission of title deed prejudiced the appellant; retrial ordered.
* Civil procedure – magistrates’ jurisdiction – when a Magistrate Grade I may act on evidence recorded by a Magistrate Grade II; locus in quo visits and proper reception of evidence.
* Evidence – reception of exhibits – requirement for formal tendering and opportunity for cross-examination before admitting title deeds.
* Land law – Magistrate may try disputes involving registered land but cannot order cancellation/rectification of certificate of title.
* Procedural fairness – unsworn evidence and unexplained deviation from trial record may vitiate judgment.
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17 December 1992 |
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7 December 1992 |
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Revision of illegal sentencing order in an assault case clarifying acceptable punishment options under Ugandan law.
Criminal Law - assault occasioning actual bodily harm - sentencing - legality of fine and imprisonment options.
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7 December 1992 |
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Where a grant of probate is unsealed, a late caveat does not automatically defeat the petition; ownership disputes must be litigated separately, and probate may be granted with restrictions.
Succession law – probate and administration – caveats against grant of probate – effect of delay in lodging a caveat where grant not yet sealed – scope of court’s inquiry at probate stage limited to validity and execution of will; ownership disputes to be litigated separately – improper consolidation of related suits does not bar probate.
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3 December 1992 |
| November 1992 |
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Sentencing for petty theft reduced where magistrate misdirected himself and failed to consider mitigating factors.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Misconduct in sentencing where magistrate relies on facts not on record; failure to consider mitigating factors (first offender, guilty plea, remand time) – Excessive sentence for petty theft – Reduction of sentence.
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30 November 1992 |
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26 November 1992 |
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26 November 1992 |
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26 November 1992 |
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18 November 1992 |
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A without‑prejudice settlement letter may be struck from the plaint, but a plaintiff may join uncertain defendants under Order 1 r.7.
* Civil procedure – "without prejudice" correspondence – settlement negotiations privileged and inadmissible unless consent – striking privileged document from pleadings.
* Civil procedure – Pleadings – sufficiency of plaint – removal of privileged annexure does not necessarily deprive plaint of cause of action.
* Civil procedure – Joinder – Order 1 rule 7 permits joinder of multiple defendants when plaintiff is in doubt as to proper defendant.
* Civil procedure – Preliminary objections – factual disputes (e.g., venue/origin of cause) are matters for trial, not for summary striking out of plaint.
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14 November 1992 |
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Application to set aside execution warrants dismissed where execution was completed and procedural irregularities were not fatal.
Civil procedure – execution of arbitration awards and consent judgments; whether execution warrants tainted by procedural irregularity or fraud can be set aside; court’s power under section 101 Civil Procedure Act to set aside orders as abuse of process; mootness where execution already carried out; consequences of ambiguous consent orders regarding determination by independent experts.
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5 November 1992 |
| October 1992 |
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28 October 1992 |
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Petitioner acquired Ugandan domicile; respondent’s adultery proved and Divorce Decree Nisi granted, no costs.
Divorce law – jurisdiction – domicile of choice acquired by foreign resident; Recognition of foreign marriage; Adultery – proof by admission and circumstantial evidence; Condonation and cessation of cohabitation; Decree Nisi granted.
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22 October 1992 |
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A court may cancel a fraudulently obtained certificate of title where a prior purchaser’s equitable title and possession are proven.
* Land law – Registration of Titles – Equitable title and vesting orders (s.175) – long possession and purchase money as basis for equitable interest.
* Fraudulent acquisition of Letters of Administration and of registered title – certificate of title declared void.
* Civil procedure – Service irregularities and defective interlocutory judgments – substantive hearing permitted under O.9 R.8 and R.10; defective interlocutory orders set aside.
* Remedies – cancellation of certificate of title, damages, costs, and referral to DPP for criminal investigation.
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22 October 1992 |
| September 1992 |
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25 September 1992 |
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Application to reinstate applicant as a shareholder in company register dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Company Law – Rectification of Company Register – Shareholding Evidence – Insufficient Proof of Shareholder Status
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25 September 1992 |
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Fraudulently obtained letters of administration vitiate subsequent land transfer; court ordered cancellation and injunction.
Land law – gift inter vivos and continuous possession – effect on title; Probate and Administration – validity of letters of administration; Fraud – vitiation of grants and subsequent transfers; Registrar of Titles – court power to cancel title obtained by fraud; Pleading and proof of fraud in civil proceedings.
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24 September 1992 |
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Transfers without required ministerial consent were void ab initio; plaintiffs entitled to rents and vacant possession.
Land law – Mailo/registered land – Transfers of lease interests – Requirement of prior written ministerial consent under the Land Transfer Act – Effect of absence of consent: transfer void ab initio; Limitation – whether actions to recover land/rent time-barred; Re-entry and registration – effect of Registrar’s entry where transferrals void; Remedies – arrears of ground rent, future rents, vacant possession, nominal trespass damages, costs with interest.
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22 September 1992 |
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18 September 1992 |
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11 September 1992 |
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8 September 1992 |
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Applicant charged with murder granted bail due to serious illness and low flight risk despite lack of formal medical‑board certificate.
Criminal procedure – Bail for an accused committed for trial under S.14A – requirement of “exceptional circumstances” – grave illness (medical‑board certificate) and remand length – adequacy of medical evidence and assessment of flight risk.
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7 September 1992 |
| August 1992 |
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High Court set aside ex parte judgments due to defective service and procedural irregularities, restraining land development pending trial.
* Civil Revision – Ex parte judgments – Defective service and defective affidavit of service – Irregular exercise of magistrate jurisdiction – Ex parte orders set aside.
* Procedure – Competence of service by messenger – Necessity of proper service and hearing before entering judgment.
* Interim relief – Restraint on surveying or developing disputed land pending final determination.
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20 August 1992 |
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Employer vicariously liable for its driver’s negligence; plaintiff awarded special and general damages with interest and costs.
• Motor-vehicle collision — vicarious liability — employer responsible for servant/driver’s negligence; driver convicted of reckless driving. • Damages — proof of special damages for spares, repairs and transport — partial reduction for delay and lack of detailed particulars. • Interest — special damages awarded to carry high contractual/penal interest from filing; general damages and taxed costs to carry court rate interest from judgment.
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4 August 1992 |
| July 1992 |
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Court refuses summary judgment on rent arrears pending resolution of jurisdiction under the Electricity Act; each party to bear own costs.
Limitation — applicability to rent arrears; Electricity Act — Sections 37 and 56 and ouster of court jurisdiction; necessity of evidence to classify installations as falling under statutory powers; refusal of summary judgment where jurisdictional issue is unresolved.
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20 July 1992 |
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Respondent’s bidding/sale claims struck out for no cause of action; interim order (25/5/92) vacated; tenancy issues to proceed to trial.
Civil procedure — striking out pleadings for want of a cause of action — pleadings must allege agency where a bidder is said to act for a plaintiff; Interim orders made without hearing adverse party — such orders may lapse and be vacated if time-limits are not complied with; Tenancy disputes and succession in title — factual issues to be resolved at trial.
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16 July 1992 |
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Courts may grant guardianship to a foreign national if in the child's best interest, with stipulations for oversight.
Family Law - Guardianship - application by foreign national - welfare and best interest of child - relocation considerations.
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15 July 1992 |
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9 July 1992 |
| June 1992 |
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19 June 1992 |
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Conviction quashed where embezzlement relied on inadequately evaluated evidence and an improperly admitted oral admission.
* Criminal law — Embezzlement — ingredients: receipt/possession, property of employer, by virtue of employment; * Evidence — evaluation: duty to resolve contradictions and respect burden of proof; * Confession/admission — alleged oral admission — requirement for trial-within-a-trial and voluntariness; * Banking law — legal effect of cheque deposits and debits in theft/embezzlement context; * Orders — compensation/refund and scope of magistrate’s consequential orders.
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18 June 1992 |
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Court found surgical negligence causing radial nerve injury and awarded general and special damages with interest and costs.
Medical negligence – surgical injury to radial nerve during operation – causation established by discharge note and expert evidence – assessment of general and special damages – allowance of interest and costs.
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12 June 1992 |
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12 June 1992 |
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Lease held subsisting; plaintiff granted equitable relief against forfeiture and ordered to pay arrears; rent review advanced to three months.
* Land/Leases – Forfeiture and re-entry – Absence of express re-entry clause and insufficiency of demand where lessor is also director of lessee – re-entry not established.
* Equity – Relief against forfeiture – Court may grant relief where plaintiff offers to pay arrears and equitable considerations (war damage, occupation) favour relief.
* Contract – Rent review – Court may order an earlier review despite a contractual ten‑year review clause.
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12 June 1992 |
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Court appointed Administrator‑General and restrained administrator pending revocation suit due to unrefuted fraud allegations.
Succession Act s218 — appointment of administrator pendente lite; interim restraining order against administrator; unrefuted allegations of fraud and mismanagement; hearing in absence after due service; Administrator‑General appointed under court control (no power to distribute).
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10 June 1992 |
| May 1992 |
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20 May 1992 |
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Plaintiff entitled to damages for repudiation of oral investment contract; principal recovery requires a different remedy.
Contract – existence of simple oral contract (offer, acceptance, consideration); breach by non-payment on demand; remedies – damages for repudiation vs action for money had and received; measure of damages as loss of agreed returns; commercial interest awarded from date of loss.
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12 May 1992 |
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4 May 1992 |
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Appeal dismissed for failure to prove statutory Notice compliance and inadequate support for substitution of defendant.
Civil procedure – amendment of plaint under O.1 r.10(2) CPR; statutory Notice of intention to sue – requirements under s.1 Act 20/69; necessity to place statutory Notice on record or annex it to affidavit; service on Administrative Secretary vs Local (District) Administration; inadmissibility of reliance on letters not in proceedings.
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4 May 1992 |
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Failure to place a statutory notice on the record justified disbelief of service; without proven service the suit was not properly instituted, so appeal dismissed.
Statutory notice — section 1, Act 20/69 — requirement of service (not filing) on appropriate officer; service on Administrative Secretary sufficient for local administration; evidential necessity to place copy of statutory notice on record; amendment under O.1 r.10(2) CPR permissible only where proceedings properly before court; trial magistrate entitled to disbelieve unverified affidavit.
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4 May 1992 |
| April 1992 |
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Court dismissed challenge to arbitration award, holding arbitrator acted within scope, parties waived formalities, and costs award was lawful.
Arbitration — setting aside award under s.12 — misconduct or improperly procured award; scope of reference and substituted claims — Fee Note No.1A admissible where submitted before appointment; waiver/estoppel of formal written requirements; arbitrator’s power to award costs — First Schedule Rule 9; error of law/fact alone insufficient to set aside award.
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27 April 1992 |
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Applicant not entitled to statutory bail: remand period ran from appellate order and fell short of 480 days; seriousness and absconding risk outweighed release.
Criminal procedure – Bail under Trial on Indictments Decree (as amended) – Computation of continuous remand where conviction set aside on appeal and retrial ordered – statutory remand period runs from appellate order remanding for retrial; Bail – discretionary factors – gravity of offence, knowledge of evidence, risk of absconding, adequacy and proximity of sureties; Delay in prosecution – distinction between prosecutorial readiness and judicial scheduling delays.
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14 April 1992 |
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Child’s welfare is paramount; custody awarded to the respondent father with monthly access to the applicant mother.
* Family law – Custody of infants – Welfare of the child as paramount consideration – English common law applicable in absence of statute – Customary law not imposed without consent or where repugnant to natural justice. * Illegitimacy – Legal rights of mother balanced against child’s welfare. * Consent/estoppel – prior written offer relevant; revocation requires proof of detrimental change. * Access – right of parent; frequency and emergencies.
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13 April 1992 |
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Court found conviction proper but reduced an excessive magistrate-imposed custodial sentence to two years for a first offender.
Criminal law – Firearms Act 1970 s.2(2)(a) – possession without certificate; Confirmation of magistrates' sentences – s.167 MCA 1970; Sentencing – whether custodial term excessive for a first offender who pleaded guilty; Reduction of sentence on confirmation.
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10 April 1992 |
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6 April 1992 |
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2 April 1992 |
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2 April 1992 |
| March 1992 |
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25 March 1992 |
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16 March 1992 |
| February 1992 |
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18 February 1992 |