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
25 judgments

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25 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
February 2026
Court granted bail to an elderly, ill accused after finding exceptional circumstances and balancing public interest.
Criminal procedure – Bail – Trial on Indictments Act s.16 – Exceptional circumstances (including advanced age) – Proof of non‑absconding (fixed abode and sureties) – Balancing individual rights and societal interest.
27 February 2026
Court extended an expired grant of probate two years to preserve estate and enable executors to defend a pending will challenge.
Succession Act – extension of expired grant of probate – just cause – executors' duty to preserve estate – pending suit challenging will – conditional renewal and requirement to file inventory and accounts.
27 February 2026
Court extended expired letters of administration for two years, finding just cause under Succession Act s.337(4).
Succession Act s.337(4) — Extension of letters of administration; requirement to show "just cause"; court's discretionary power; conditions: inventory and account; costs ordered to administrator.
27 February 2026
No proved 2019 insurance policy — insurer not liable; lender held liable for failing to provide insurance documentation.
Insurance law – insurer’s liability requires proof of an operative policy for the loss period; absence of a 2019 policy precludes indemnity. Consumer protection – lender’s duty to provide key insurance documentation; lender liable for representations to borrower. Burden of proof in civil claims.
27 February 2026
Judicial review unavailable for private employment disputes; accepted offer created contract but remedy is an ordinary claim.
Judicial review — amenability — employment/contract dispute — offer and acceptance — withdrawal of offer — private law vs public law — exhaustion of internal remedies — certiorari/mandamus inappropriate for pure contractual claims.
10 February 2026
Local government's summary closure of a registered school was procedurally unlawful, irrational and is quashed; school must be reopened.
Administrative law — Judicial review — Amenability of local government decision to review; Illegality and ultra vires acts; Procedural impropriety and audi alteram partem — Education Act (sections 37, 46) — Requirements for notice, inquiry and hearing before closing private schools; Wednesbury irrationality; Remedies: certiorari, mandamus, prohibition, injunction, costs; damages declined for lack of evidence.
10 February 2026
Contempt application dismissed for failure to prove respondents had notice of the injunction and wilfully disobeyed it.
Civil contempt — elements: existence of order, service/notice, non‑compliance, wilfulness; affidavit irregularities — severability; personal service and proof of knowledge required for committal.
10 February 2026
Court struck out counter-claim that exceeded the scope of granted leave as an abuse of the amendment process.
Civil procedure – Amendment of pleadings – Leave to amend must be based on proposed amended pleading – Proposed pleading bounds scope of amendment – Abuse of process where new party or new cause of action introduced without fresh leave – Power to strike out under Section 98 CPA and s.14(2) Judicature Act – Order 6 r30(1) inapplicable where cause of action disclosed.
10 February 2026
Attachment before judgment dismissed; merger did not prove respondent’s intent to dispose assets or evade a decree.
Civil procedure — Attachment before judgment — Section 64 Civil Procedure Act and Order 40(5) CPR — Requirement of clear proof of present intent to dispose or remove property to obstruct execution — Merger/vesting of assets under repeal statute — Remedy to be exercised sparingly.
10 February 2026
High Court lacked first-instance jurisdiction for sole custody but allowed applicant to travel with child and have custody abroad.
Jurisdiction — High Court inherent jurisdiction vs Magistrates' Court as first-instance for custody; Children Act — custody by agreement (s118) and sole custody procedure (s116, Rule 19 SI 59–2); Parental duty under Constitution Article 31(4); Proof of child's age (Registration of Persons Act s39(3)); Court's remedial power under Judicature Act s37; Relocation of child and consent of other parent.
4 February 2026
Court extended expired letters of administration five years to allow the estate to continue receiving pension.
Succession — Renewal/extension of expired letters of administration — Succession Act s256(3) and s256(4)(c) — Court’s discretion under Judicature Act s37 — Estate receiving pension — beneficiaries’ consent — conditions: inventory and accounts — costs.
2 February 2026
Court extended expired letters of administration for two years, requiring inventory and account within one year.
Succession law — Extension/renewal of letters of administration — Applicability of s.256(3) and s.337(4) Succession Act — Requirement to show just cause for grants issued before 31 May 2022 — Beneficiaries’ consent — Filing of inventory and accounts.
2 February 2026
January 2026
The court extended the applicants' expired letters of administration for two years after finding just cause.
Succession law – Renewal/extension of Letters of Administration – Section 337(4) Succession Act – requirement to show just cause – beneficiaries' consent – conditional extension requiring inventory and full account – costs awarded to administrators.
27 January 2026
Court extended the applicant's letters of administration two years due to a pending suit, ordering inventory and accounts.
Succession Act – Extension of Letters of Administration – Section 337(4) (pre-31 May 2022 grants) – "just cause" established by pending civil suit – requirement to file inventory and accounts – costs payable by administrator.
27 January 2026
Applicants lacked locus to renew expired letters; letters became inoperative after co-administrator's death; application dismissed.
Succession Act – renewal of letters of administration – locus to apply – effect of death of joint administrator (s.230(2)(d)) – extension of pre-31 May 2022 grants (s.337(4)) – fitness of administrator – beneficiaries' consent – certificate of no objection from Administrator General.
27 January 2026
Local government officers unlawfully entered land and assaulted the owner, violating non‑derogable rights; damages awarded.
Property law – Trespass to land; Certificate of title conclusive proof of ownership; Physical Planning Act – enforcement notice and compliance period; Constitutional law – prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (Articles 24, 44); Vicarious liability of local government; Damages and punitive liability for public officer.
23 January 2026
Lineal beneficiaries may sue to recover intestate land and fraud/constructive trust can defeat limitation defenses.
Succession law – beneficiaries' locus to protect intestate property; Limitation Act – accrual under s.6(2); s.19(1) exception for fraud/fraudulent breach of trust; constructive trustee and concealment of title prevents statute-bar defence.
23 January 2026
Court allowed joinder of beneficiaries and a co‑administrator to a suit seeking cancellation of title and removal of a caveat.
Civil procedure — Order 1 Rule 10(2) CPR — joinder of necessary parties; beneficiaries and co‑administrators; maintainability of suit; abuse of court process; cancellation of title and removal of caveat.
23 January 2026
Court ordered resurvey of gazetted forest reserve after finding NFA’s acreage error and adjusted title boundaries.
Land law – validity of registered title overlapping a gazetted central forest reserve – statutory declaration SI No.63/1998 – boundary plan BP1631 – resurvey and GPS re‑establishment – remedy for erroneous public body plotting (NFA).
23 January 2026
Whether refusal to sign transfer documents constituted civil contempt enforceable by coercive compliance and a fine.
Civil contempt — enforcement of consent judgments — elements of civil contempt (lawful order, knowledge, ability, failure) — coercive remedies (specific performance, conditional fine) — refusal to imprison where circumstances do not warrant committal.
23 January 2026
Judicial review dismissed as time‑barred: filed beyond the three‑month statutory limit without seeking extension.
Judicial review — time limits — Section 40(7) Judicature Act and Rule 5(1) Judicial Review Rules — three-month limitation — date grounds first arose is date decision issued — failure to seek extension — jurisdictional bar — dismissal without costs.
23 January 2026
Mortgagee entitled to sell by public auction and obtain eviction after complying with statutory notice requirements.
Mortgage law – legal mortgage registration – compliance with demand and notice requirements under the Mortgage Act – remedies of mortgagee including power of sale and entry into possession – sale by public auction – eviction for vacant possession – ex parte proceedings after substituted service.
23 January 2026
Court permits mortgagee to sell by public auction and obtain eviction after statutory notice compliance, with no costs awarded.
Mortgage law – Legal mortgage registration; compliance with Mortgage Act notices (demand, default, notice of sale); power of sale by public auction; entitlement to vacant possession and eviction; discretionary refusal of costs.
23 January 2026
Court permitted amendment of plaint to reflect discovered title, finding no prejudice and costs in the cause.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of pleadings — Order 6 Rule 19 CPR — leave to amend before hearing — discovery of new facts after filing — titled land vs unregistered plots — change of cause of action — prejudice compensable by costs — interest of justice.
23 January 2026
Appellant's challenges to the company's incorporation and to the existence of tenancy failed; trial court's findings were upheld.
Civil procedure – preliminary objections and capacity to sue – timing and pleading of preliminary points; Evidence – proof of corporate existence by witness admission, registration details, company form and post-trial exhibit; Landlord and tenant – creation of tenancy by conduct/oral agreement, receipts and local leader corroboration as proof of occupation and rent arrears; Burden of proof – plaintiff’s duty to prove tenancy; Appellate review – re-evaluation of evidence and assessment of credibility.
23 January 2026