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Citation
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Judgment date
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| August 2024 |
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30 August 2024 |
| May 2024 |
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9 May 2024 |
| April 2024 |
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Beneficiaries of an undivided intestate estate may sue without letters; sale by a beneficiary without administration is unlawful and constitutes trespass.
Property law – intestate estate – sale by beneficiary of undivided estate without letters of administration invalid; locus standi – beneficiaries/grandchildren may sue without letters to protect estate interests; trespass – unlawful entry following invalid sale; appellate review – re-evaluation of trial findings on possession and title.
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30 April 2024 |
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Appellant failed to prove ownership beyond the one-acre sale; trial court’s evaluation and locus visit were upheld.
Land law – proof of title and extent of land sold; interpretation of written sale agreement; weight of oral evidence and locus in quo; Practice Direction No.1 of 2007 – procedure for locus visits; trespass – burden to prove actual entry and possession.
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30 April 2024 |
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Appellant failed to prove title; locus visit and unchallenged evidence upheld respondents and appeal was dismissed.
Land law – title dispute – appellant failed to prove ownership; locus in quo – evidential weight where possession is visible and unchallenged; appellate procedure – striking out vague grounds and grounds introduced only in submissions; damages – appellate restraint where trial court properly exercised discretion in awarding general damages.
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30 April 2024 |
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Consent judgment vesting ownership extinguished plaintiff’s cause of action; suit struck out for failing to disclose a cause of action.
Civil procedure – preliminary objection – plaint to be rejected where it does not disclose a cause of action (Order 7 r.11(a)); Consent judgment declaring ownership – disposes of subject matter and extinguishes cause of action against remaining defendant; Limitation unnecessary to decide once no cause of action exists.
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30 April 2024 |
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Court granted a stay pending appeal, finding risk of irretrievable loss and waiving the security requirement.
Stay of execution pending appeal — Order 43 r 4(3) CPR — conditions: substantial loss, no unreasonable delay, security for due performance — procedural irregularities (wrong provision cited, affidavits lacking authority, unsigned annexures) — discretion to dispense with security.
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30 April 2024 |
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A suit filed against a person dead at filing is incompetent and must be struck out; substitution is not available.
Civil procedure – competency of suit – action against deceased person – incapacity to be sued – substitution of parties (Order 1 r10) not available where defendant was dead at filing – letters of administration – costs for failure to verify capacity.
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30 April 2024 |
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High Court dismissed revision, holding continuation of magistrates' proceedings lawful after administration cause dismissal.
* Civil procedure – Revision (s.83 Civil Procedure Act) – High Court may revise magistrates' court decisions where jurisdiction not vested, not exercised, or exercised with material irregularity; conditional stays end when the condition (dismissal of related Administration Cause) is met. * Magistrates' court practice – Stay of proceedings pending related High Court administration matter – effect of dismissal of administration cause. * Evidence – failure to file rejoinder treated as acceptance of respondent's affidavit facts.
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30 April 2024 |
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A government defendant may be properly joined as a necessary/nominal party in a compensation dispute despite no prior payment or violation.
Civil procedure – Joinder of parties – Order 1 Rule 3 – Necessary/nominal party – Government/Attorney General impleaded in land compensation dispute arising from compulsory acquisition – Cause of action and preliminary objection.
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30 April 2024 |
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Whether respondent utilities are liable for trespass after erecting power lines on the applicant’s land without consent.
Property law – trespass to land; registered title permits action in trespass; utility licensee obligations under Electricity Act (notice, wayleaves, compensation); liability of a party who induces trespass; remedies – injunction, removal, general damages, interest, costs.
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30 April 2024 |
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Applicant failed to show good cause for extension of time; Registrar lawfully stayed execution and did not determine ownership.
Civil procedure – extension of time to appeal – discretionary relief requiring no inordinate delay, good cause and no prejudice – mistake of counsel/ignorance not automatically sufficient – registrar’s power to grant stay of execution pending appeal; interlocutory ruling not a determination of ownership.
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30 April 2024 |
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The applicant’s application for boundary verification of disputed forest reserve land is granted; parties to bear their own costs.
* Land law – boundary opening and verification – necessity of on-ground assessment by a licensed surveyor where boundaries are disputed.
* Evidence – role of independent joint survey in clarifying factual boundaries but not determining legal title.
* Procedure – application under Section 98 CPA and Order 51 CPR to conduct boundary verification during pending suit.
* Costs – each party to bear its own costs where boundary opening is ordered.
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30 April 2024 |
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Court set aside dismissal for want of prosecution and reinstated suit due to non-service and non-willful absence.
Civil procedure – Dismissal for want of prosecution – Order 9 r 17 CPR (dismissal when neither party appears) – Distinction from abatement under Order 17 r 6 CPR – Review under Order 46 r 1 CPR – Effect of non-service of hearing notice – Reinstatement and costs.
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30 April 2024 |
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A respondent who is a widow and beneficiary may counterclaim to protect estate land without letters of administration.
Civil procedure – Locus standi – Counterclaim by widow/beneficiary – Ability to protect estate land without Letters of Administration; Order 8 Rule 2; pleadings requirement under Order 4 Rule 1; reliance on Israel Kabwa v. Martin Banoba Mugisa.
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30 April 2024 |
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Stay of execution refused where appellant failed to show substantial loss, likelihood of success, and to provide security.
* Civil procedure – stay of execution – Order 43 r.4(3) CPR – requirements: notice of appeal, substantial loss, no unreasonable delay, security for due performance.
* Security for due performance – discretionary but required as precondition under r.4(3)(c) where applicable.
* Substantial loss – requires real risk of execution, not mere speculation.
* Likelihood of success on appeal – mere filing of notice of appeal insufficient to show merits.
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30 April 2024 |
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26 April 2024 |
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26 April 2024 |
| February 2024 |
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Counsel’s mistake was sufficient reason to set aside dismissal and reinstate the suit for hearing on its merits.
* Civil procedure – review of judgment – Order 46 Rule 1(2)/(3) – "any other sufficient reason" – counsel’s negligence as ground for review. * Dismissal for want of prosecution – Order XVII Rule 5 (amended) – abatement versus dismissal for non-appearance. * Service – omission to serve not fatal where purpose of service fulfilled by obtaining court file copy.
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29 February 2024 |
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Guardianship application dismissed for failing to meet mandatory statutory requirements despite welfare considerations.
Guardianship — Children’s (Amendment) Act 2016 (ss. 3, 43A, 43F) — welfare of the child paramount — mandatory preconditions for guardian appointment: continuous residence in Uganda, criminal record clearance, and recommendation from probation/social welfare — foreign-resident applicants — financial support insufficient to substitute statutory requirements.
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29 February 2024 |
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A stay pending appeal requires notice of appeal, proof of substantial loss, no undue delay, and provision of security.
Stay of execution pending appeal – Order 43 r.4 CPR – requirements: notice of appeal, substantial loss, no unreasonable delay, security – laches – consent judgment – protection of successful litigant’s fruits.
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29 February 2024 |
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Appellant failed to displace registered title where evidence showed pre-existing customary interests, so title rectification and costs ordered.
Land law – registered leasehold title – effect of registration and exceptions for fraud or pre-existing unregistered customary interests; burden of proof in title disputes; locus in quo procedure; effect and scope of consent judgments; rectification of title/registration.
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29 February 2024 |
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Applicant’s dismissal for want of prosecution set aside due to illness and counsel’s negligence; suit reinstated.
Civil procedure – setting aside dismissal under Order 9 r.23; sufficient cause/good cause – illness and counsel’s negligence; service and registry delays; res judicata/overtaken-by-events; limitation and claims against estate administrators.
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29 February 2024 |
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Court grants mandamus compelling respondent to issue appointment and awards damages for unlawful refusal.
* Judicial review – administrative decision – amenability to review and exhaustion of remedies; * Mandamus – compelling public officer to issue appointment; * Public service recruitment – legality and rationality of refusal to appoint; * Reliefs – damages and costs for unlawful administrative action.
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29 February 2024 |
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Counterclaim adding third parties without making the plaintiff a counter-defendant is irregular and struck out.
Civil Procedure – Preliminary objections: timeliness of filing defences (Order 8 r.1(2)) and effect of registry dating errors; Counterclaims – requirement that plaintiff be included as counter-defendant (Order 8) and limits on introducing third parties; Misjoinder and multifariousness – proper use of Order 1 r.10 or Order 14 third-party notice; Pleadings – requirement that plaint disclose a cause of action (Auto Garage test).
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29 February 2024 |
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Court ordered direct transfer of district-held Kihonda land title to national land authority to enforce prior ruling.
Judicial review — enforcement of judgments — consequential orders to give effect to a prior ruling; transfer of district-owned land title; Civil Procedure Act ss. 34 and 98; unchallenged affidavit evidence; execution of decrees; land registration.
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2 February 2024 |
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Court finds councilors in contempt for suspending the District Service Commission despite an existing interim order, expunges minutes, and awards damages.
Contempt of court – interim order restraining motions – knowledge and disobedience – statutory immunity of local government officials not absolute – unsigned council minutes expunged – damages and costs awarded.
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2 February 2024 |
| December 2023 |
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Government delay and COVID‑19 restrictions did not constitute sufficient cause to set aside the ex parte judgment.
Civil procedure – setting aside ex parte decree – Order 9 r.27 – Government Proceedings (Civil Procedure) r.6 – service of summons – sufficient cause – COVID‑19 restrictions and police investigations not constituting sufficient cause – abuse of process.
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22 December 2023 |
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Appellate court upheld respondent’s ownership, found purchasers had notice, and dismissed the appeal with costs.
* Land law – ownership dispute – proof by oral/secondary evidence when original sale agreement is lost; credibility of witnesses. * Bona fide purchaser for value without notice – elements and effect of actual or constructive notice. * Appellate review – scope in re-evaluating witness credibility. * Damages – appellate reluctance to interfere absent wrong principle or manifestly erroneous award.
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22 December 2023 |
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The applicant’s appeal was struck out for being filed out of time despite the deponent’s capacity to swear the affidavit.
Civil procedure – Appeals from registrar – statutory time limits under section 79(1)(b) – appeal struck out for being filed out of time; Corporate affidavits – deponent capacity – Accounts Relationship Supervisor held to have sufficient authority; Article 126(2)(e) Constitution – not a license to evade procedural timelines; Setting aside dismissal orders – merits rendered moot where appeal incompetent.
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22 December 2023 |
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Court refused leave to amend counterclaim because application failed to meet Order 6 r.19 amendment principles.
Civil procedure – Amendment of pleadings – Order 6 r.19 CPR – Leave to amend to be granted only if amendment is bona fide, necessary to raise real issues, does not unjustly prejudice the other party, avoids multiplicity and does not introduce a distinct new cause of action; application to add fraud allegations and general damages refused for failure to meet these principles; procedural objection as to time/service considered but dismissal based on merits.
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22 December 2023 |
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Amendment of a counterclaim refused for failing to satisfy Order 6 rule 19 principles and avoiding prejudice.
Civil Procedure – Amendment of pleadings – Order 6 r 19 CPR – Leave to amend to be granted only where amendment is bona fide, avoids injustice and multiplicity, does not substantially change cause of action, and is not mala fide; time‑bar and prejudice arguments in opposing amendments.
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22 December 2023 |
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An interim stay of execution pending review was granted to protect occupants from imminent eviction under a consent judgment.
Land law — Consent judgment — Representative suit — Review and setting aside of consent orders — Interim stay of execution — High Court inherent powers (s.98 Civil Procedure Act) — Preservation of status quo to prevent rendering substantive application nugatory.
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22 December 2023 |
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The appeal succeeded because the respondent's claim for recovery of land was time-barred and the trial magistrate erred.
• Limitation Act (Sections 5 & 11) – accrual of action to recover land – distinction between recovery of land and continuous trespass.
• Possession and adverse possession – proof of actual possession and intention to exclude others; effect of shifting/vacation on title disputes.
• Appellate review – re-appraisal of factual findings and credibility where trial findings overlook material features.
• Allegation of judicial bias – requires proof; omission to reference every piece of evidence is not necessarily bias.
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22 December 2023 |
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Appellants failed to prove title; customary occupation and lack of purchaser due diligence sustained ownership and dismissal of appeal.
* Land law – customary tenure – ownership determined by long-term occupation and conduct (lease/freehold applications).
* Evidence – burden of proof and evaluation on a balance of probabilities in unregistered land disputes.
* Purchaser’s duty – due diligence required for purchases of unregistered land; bona fide purchaser protection limited to registered interests.
* Appellate review – first appellate court must re-evaluate evidence though may give due weight to trial findings.
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22 December 2023 |
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Purchaser held in contempt only for breaching consent judgment’s rental and maintenance terms, not for ownership or title.
Contempt of court – consent judgment – existence and survival of consent order after death – requirement of knowledge and non‑compliance – scope of consent judgment confined to rental income and maintenance, not ownership or title – service of process and computation of time (24 December–15 January exclusion) – remedies: fine, compensation, default imprisonment, costs.
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22 December 2023 |
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Failure to plead fraud/connivance prevents a new cause of action; bringing buyers is not trespass; counsel’s drafting binds client.
* Civil procedure – Pleadings – parties bound by their pleadings; O.6 r 7 CPR prohibits raising new grounds without amendment. * Property law – Trespass – unauthorized entry required; bringing buyers/connivance does not automatically constitute trespass. * Costs – Client bound by counsel’s pleadings; remedy for negligent drafting is professional negligence action.
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22 December 2023 |
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Adverse possession can defeat a registered title where the purchaser failed physical due diligence and the possessor occupied for 12 years.
Appeal procedure — service of memorandum of appeal — service mandatory but court may hear where respondent aware and not prejudiced; Land law — purchaser's duty of due diligence requires registry search plus physical inspection and survey; Adverse possession — Limitation Act 12-year prescription can extinguish registered title; Registration of Titles Act — indefeasibility subject to fraud and loss by adverse possession.
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22 December 2023 |
| October 2023 |
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Court granted temporary injunction restraining administrator from dealing with estate pending main suit, overruling affidavit-authority objection.
* Civil procedure – preliminary objection – affidavit by one applicant for many – deponent’s personal knowledge suffices; written authority not required.
* Civil procedure – interlocutory relief – Order 41 r.1(a) – temporary injunction: prima facie case, irreparable injury, balance of convenience.
* Succession law – letters of administration – allegations of fraud, failure to file inventory and unlawful disposition of estate property may justify preservation orders.
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27 October 2023 |
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Application to dismiss appeal for non-payment of security dismissed after respondents proved deposit; withdrawal allowed with no costs.
Civil procedure – Withdrawal/discontinuance of proceedings – Order 25 r.1(1)-(3) and r.7 – leave to withdraw by court’s discretion – requirement of chamber summons – mootness where payment of court-ordered security is proved – proof of payment (receipts, EFT) suffices to defeat dismissal for non-payment.
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27 October 2023 |
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Leave granted to amend plaint to add estate distribution relief; amendment not a new cause of action and causes no prejudice.
Civil procedure – Amendment of pleadings under Order 6 r19 and Section 98 – Whether an amendment introducing a relief for distribution of an estate constitutes a new cause of action; prejudice to the other party; avoiding multiplicity of proceedings.
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27 October 2023 |
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Revocation application dismissed because applicants failed to prove a co‑administrator's death and meet Section 234 requirements.
Succession law – Revocation of letters of administration – Section 234(2)(d) (inoperative or useless grant) – Burden of proof under Evidence Act s.101 – Requirement to prove death of co‑administrator – Mis‑pleading not fatal where court may consider correct provision in interests of justice.
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27 October 2023 |
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Consent judgment in a representative suit was set aside for failure to comply with mandatory representative‑suit procedures.
* Civil Procedure – Representative actions – Order 1 rule 8 – mandatory requirements (written authorizations, list of persons, notice/advertisement, court verification) – non‑compliance renders suit irregular/incompetent.
* Consent judgments – vitiation where procured by illegality, ignorance of material facts, fraud or collusion.
* Execution – party seeking to rely on execution must prove proper and complete execution; incomplete compensation documents may not establish execution.
* Remedies – setting aside consent judgment, injunction against eviction, costs awarded.
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27 October 2023 |
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Ex parte judgment set aside because corporate defendant was not properly served; receptionist was not an authorised agent.
Civil procedure — setting aside ex parte judgment — O.9 r 27 CPR; service on corporations — O.29 r 2 and O.5 r 1 CPR — service must be on company secretary, director or principal officer; receptionist or unnamed recipient at reception not necessarily authorised agent; defective return of service invalidates ex parte decree.
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27 October 2023 |
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Appeal allowed: land is communal clan property; trial court erred and eviction/injunction set aside.
* Land law – customary/clan land – determination of individual versus communal ownership; burden of proof under the Evidence Act. * Civil procedure – locus in quo – admissibility of evidence and Practice Direction No.1 of 2007; witnesses at locus must testify in open court and be subject to oath and cross-examination. * Evidence – improperly admitted locus evidence may be disregarded where sufficient independent evidence supports the result. * Remedies – eviction, injunction and demolition orders require proven title and proper procedure.
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27 October 2023 |
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Beneficiaries may be joined to litigation affecting an estate to protect their interests despite an existing administrator.
Civil procedure – Joinder of parties (Order 1 r.13) – Beneficiaries' locus standi to sue or be joined in proceedings affecting an estate despite existence of administrator – Avoidance of multiplicity of suits – Discretionary addition of parties.
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27 October 2023 |
| March 2023 |
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Handwriting expert evidence established a forged will, leading to invalidation, intestacy and an injunction on enforcement.
Testamentary law – validity of wills – forgery – handwriting expert evidence corroborating anomalies; will declared void; intestacy; injunction against enforcement; Originating Summons inappropriate where oral evidence required; letters of administration ordered; no damages awarded; no costs.
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31 March 2023 |
| August 2019 |
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Sole witness identification found reliable, supporting convictions for murder, aggravated robbery and attempted murder.
Criminal law – murder; aggravated robbery; attempted murder – identification by sole witness; Abdala Nabulere test for identification; post‑mortem and PF3 evidence; rejection of alibi; conviction on all counts.
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16 August 2019 |
| April 2019 |
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25 April 2019 |
| February 2017 |
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Guardianship application dismissed for failure to meet mandatory residence, clearance and probation/specialist recommendation requirements.
Children — Guardianship — Welfare of the child paramount; Guardianship requirements under Children (Amendment) Act 2016 ss.43A, 43F — continuous residence, criminal record clearance, and probation/social welfare recommendation mandatory; foreign‑based applicant’s financial support insufficient; application dismissed.
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28 February 2017 |