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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2012 |
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Letter accusing a judge of fraud and interference was defamatory per se; qualified privilege failed due to malice; general damages awarded.
Defamation – libel per se – imputations of fraud and improper use of office; Qualified privilege – unavailable where publisher has no interest and publication is actuated by malice; Remedies – general damages awarded, exemplary damages and injunction refused; interest and costs granted.
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5 December 2012 |
| November 2012 |
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Kampala Capital City Authority Act 2010 led to the lawful frustration of employment contracts without fault of either party.
Employment Law – Frustration of contract – Change in law and its impact on existing employment contracts – Doctrine of frustration applied to governmental restructure.
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15 November 2012 |
| October 2012 |
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Plaintiffs' claims of negligence dismissed due to insufficient evidence linking the defendant to fire's cause.
Tort Law – Negligence – Damages – Res Ipsa Loquitor – Burden of Proof.
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5 October 2012 |
| September 2012 |
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An illegal sale of family land without beneficiaries’ consent is void; purchaser must vacate and be refunded.
Land law – family land and administrator’s authority – validity of sale of family land without beneficiaries’ consent; Registration – posthumous registration via Letters of Administration lawful where process completed for succession; Civil procedure – locus in quo visits unnecessary where title and evidential record suffice; Remedies – cancellation of illegal sale, vacant possession and refund of consideration; Appeal – appellate court may re-evaluate evidence and will not disturb findings absent error.
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21 September 2012 |
| July 2012 |
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Application for a hearing in vacation refused for lack of urgency and because the motion was procedurally incomplete.
Civil procedure – application for certificate of urgency – requirements to show real urgency; internal political party nomination disputes ordinarily not inherently urgent; procedural completeness – necessity to attach the impugned decision to a motion seeking certiorari; allegations of public expenditure insufficient alone to establish urgency.
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18 July 2012 |
| June 2012 |
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High Court set aside magistrate’s dismissal for absent counsel where applicant was present; ordered application to proceed on merits.
Civil procedure – Revision under section 83 Civil Procedure Act – Dismissal for absence of counsel where applicant present through principal officer – Material irregularity and miscarriage of justice – Costs.
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20 June 2012 |
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A Children and Family Court lacked jurisdiction over a land dispute; its order was set aside and parties directed to the proper forum.
* Jurisdiction – Children and Family Court – limits of jurisdiction – land disputes fall outside child care/protection remit and must be brought in appropriate forum.
* Civil procedure – forum conveniens – LC Court, Magistrate’s Court or High Court depending on value and nature of land dispute.
* Costs – court’s discretion – no costs where parties are family and lay persons appearing without counsel.
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18 June 2012 |
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Appellate court found owner proved title; trial magistrate erred by overemphasising minor witness inconsistencies and speculation.
- Evidence — weight of minor inconsistencies — minor/explainable contradictions should be ignored where not material.- Proof of title — oral testimony versus documentary records — documentary records corroborating foundation status are decisive.- Trial procedure — impermissible reliance on conjecture and extraneous facts undermines findings.- Remedies — declaration of ownership, vacant possession and permanent injunction for trespass; discretionary award of damages.
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12 June 2012 |
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Judicial review application dismissed due to unreasonable delay in challenging a civil service dismissal decision.
Judicial review - delay in application - dismissal from civil service - rules of natural justice - time-barred claims
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1 June 2012 |
| May 2012 |
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Court set aside summary-suit judgments for questionable service, allowed defences and ordered immediate release of civil prisoners.
Civil procedure – Revision of summary-suit judgments; Service of summons – reliability of affidavits of service; Summary proceedings – set-off as defence raising prima facie triable issues; Access to justice – setting aside judgments and release of civil prisoners pending defence.
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8 May 2012 |
| April 2012 |
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Registration obtained despite notice of the applicant’s equitable interest and without due process amounts to fraudulent acquisition.
Land law – equitable interest on payment of premium – allocation and excision of land – notice to purchaser/assignee – Registration of Titles Act s.176 – fraud and misdescription in registration – breach of natural justice in allocation process – cancellation of title and injunction.
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30 April 2012 |
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State unlawfully evicted customary landowners; court ordered restoration, Lokeris Line demarcation, injunction and damages.
Land law – customary tenure and leasehold – proof of ownership on balance of probabilities; Constitutional protection of property (Arts. 20, 21, 26) – unlawful state eviction without acquisition procedures; Reliefs – restoration of possession, demarcation of boundary (Lokeris Line), permanent injunction, general and exemplary damages, costs and interest.
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25 April 2012 |
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Court finds plaintiffs’ customary and leasehold title established; government eviction unlawful; restores possession and awards damages.
Land law – customary and leasehold occupancy v State claim; evidence of title; ministerial action and Cabinet minutes; Lokeris Line survey; unlawful eviction; constitutional protection of property; remedies – restitution, injunction, general and exemplary damages, costs and interest.
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25 April 2012 |
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Malicious prosecution claim was not res judicata; plaint disclosed a cause against the second respondent personally.
* Civil procedure – Res judicata – earlier proceedings were premature for malicious prosecution claims; cause of action arises after conclusion/discontinuance of prosecution.
* Tort – Malicious prosecution – Cause of action – Pleadings sufficient where officer allegedly acted beyond scope of duties (personal liability).
* Pleadings – Cause of action – Auto Garage test applied.
* Costs – costs in the cause.
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19 April 2012 |
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A valid five-year employment contract was breached by the defendant, entitling the plaintiff to damages, interest, and costs.
* Employment law – formation of fixed-term contract – validity of resignation and effect of prior employer’s processes; * Breach vs frustration – denial of work and non-payment constitutes breach, not frustration; * Remedies – assessment of special damages for remaining contractual term (net of mitigation), award of general damages, interest and costs.
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12 April 2012 |
| February 2012 |
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Property in objector's possession at attachment was wrongly attached and the subsequent judicial sale was set aside.
Civil procedure — Order 22 Rules 55–57 — Objector proceedings to attachment — Possession and interest at date of attachment determinative — Judicial sale set aside where property wrongfully attached and sale conducted contrary to court directions.
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10 February 2012 |
| January 2012 |
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30 January 2012 |