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Citation
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Judgment date
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| July 2021 |
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Regulator lawfully suspended an unregistered electoral coalition; procedural fairness requirements were met.
Non‑Governmental Organisations Act 2016 – scope and objects; regulation of unregistered coalitions/associations operating as NGO‑type bodies; suspension of operations; procedural fairness – opportunity to be heard; freedom of association versus statutory compliance.
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30 July 2021 |
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Court granted interlocutory relief restraining cancellation implementation pending trial, citing procedural fairness and irreparable harm.
Civil procedure – interlocutory injunction – tests: prima facie case, irreparable injury, balance of convenience. Administrative law – procedural fairness – requirement to afford a hearing before cancelling registration. NGOs – cancellation of registration and interim relief to preserve operations pending judicial review.
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30 July 2021 |
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Police deployment to prevent trespass, guided by DPP and surveyor findings, did not breach the applicant’s constitutional property rights.
Constitutional law – Right to property (Article 26) – Alleged interference with quiet possession by police deployment; Police powers (Article 212) – Lawful exercise to protect life and property and prevent crime; Role of DPP and surveyor’s report in guiding police action; Remedies – declaratory relief, injunctions and damages where possession disputed.
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30 July 2021 |
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COVID-19 directives and the Chief Justice's circular were lawful, proportionate limitations of rights and the enforcement application was dismissed.
Human rights enforcement – jurisdiction of High Court under Human Rights (Enforcement) Act; Executive power to make statutory instruments – Article 99, Interpretation Act and Public Health Act; Retrospective commencement of statutory instruments; Administrative powers of Chief Justice under Article 133; Limitation of rights – Article 43, proportionality and precautionary principle in public-health emergencies.
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29 July 2021 |
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Applicant entitled to judicial review where Tribunal cancelled procurement without hearing the best-evaluated bidder.
Administrative law – Judicial review – Amenability where tribunal is a public body and alleged breach of natural justice. Procurement law – Right to be heard – necessity to add/hear an affected best-evaluated bidder in tribunal proceedings. Exhaustion of remedies – where not a party to tribunal proceedings, judicial review may be sole remedy. Remedies – declaration of nullity, certiorari, injunction and costs.
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29 July 2021 |
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Court granted a temporary injunction restraining criminal investigations into the applicant’s judicial acts pending determination of the main suit.
Constitutional law – judicial immunity (Article 128(4)) – whether criminal investigations into judicial acts are lawful; Civil procedure – temporary injunction – prima facie case, irreparable injury, balance of convenience; Administrative law – separation of functions between Judicial Service Commission and criminal investigatory agencies; Double jeopardy/parallel proceedings – interplay between disciplinary and criminal processes.
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28 July 2021 |
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Plaintiffs failed to prove estate ownership of the disputed parcel; unrelated counterclaim wrongly entertained and set aside.
Land law – proof of ownership – burden on plaintiff to prove on balance of probabilities; departure from pleadings and contradictory testimony may justify rejecting evidence. Civil procedure – pleadings and locus – court must identify correct parcel and confine adjudication to pleaded claims. Counterclaim – distinct cause of action (redemption of mortgage) must be brought separately; trial court erred in entertaining unrelated counterclaim. Mortgage law – misapplication of “once a mortgage, always a mortgage” where no convincing evidence of mortgage exists.
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28 July 2021 |
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Appellants' inconsistent evidence and imperfect locus visit did not overturn the trial finding of respondent's ownership.
Land law – boundary dispute – competing claims by first occupation and ancestral possession – burden under s.101 Evidence Act. Evidence – contradictions and inconsistencies – effect on credibility and weight. Civil procedure – locus in quo inspection – proper conduct and recording; defects do not automatically vitiate judgment unless miscarriage of justice shown (s.166 Evidence Act). Appellate duty – re-evaluation of evidence and making own finding of fact and law.
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27 July 2021 |
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Applicant’s repeated detention beyond 48 hours violated Article 23; torture and other claims not proved; damages awarded.
Constitutional rights — personal liberty (Art.23): detention beyond 48 hours unlawful; torture (Arts.24/44): high evidentiary threshold — medical proof and corroboration required; public officer protection and redeployment (Art.173): claimant must prove non‑compliance; vicarious liability of State: not established without supporting evidence.
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23 July 2021 |
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Challenge to presidential COVID‑19 directives and Chief Justice circular dismissed for lacking grounds for judicial review.
Judicial review – locus standi – ‘‘direct or sufficient interest’’; Constitutional and statutory power to make statutory instruments – Article 99, Interpretation Act; Retrospective commencement of statutory instruments – s.17 Interpretation Act; Public health regulation – S.I. No. 38 of 2021; Administrative powers of the Chief Justice – Article 133; Limits of challenge to administrative circulars; Illegality, procedural impropriety and unreasonableness as grounds for review.
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23 July 2021 |
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Judicial review dismissed: dispute characterized as private contractual matter and barred by lis pendens.
Judicial review – propriety of remedy – distinction between public law and private contractual disputes – lis pendens and multiplicity of suits – Markets Act and KCCA Act contextual facts – public body acting in private capacity.
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23 July 2021 |
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An employment/contract claim cannot be recharacterised as a human‑rights enforcement to evade statutory limitation; application dismissed.
Human Rights (Enforcement) Act – limitation – 10 years with discretionary extension under s.19(2). Civil/contractual claims – statutory limitation for government/contract claims – shorter limitation periods apply; time limits substantive. Abuse of process – recharacterising employment/contractual claims as human‑rights enforcement to evade limitation is impermissible. Evidence of incapacity – medical/expert proof required to justify prolonged inability to litigate.
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23 July 2021 |
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Appellate court overturned a trespass finding, holding possession, material contradictions and improper document rejection warranted allowing the appeal.
Land law – possession and trespass – weight of physical/locus evidence and cultivation as proof of possession; Evidence – credibility and material contradictions; Document evidence – rejection of documents requires expert or inquiry not mere observation; Boundaries – corroboration by sale agreement and locus visit; Appellate review – fresh evaluation of evidence.
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22 July 2021 |
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Interdiction pending investigation is a preventive administrative measure and does not require a pre-interdiction hearing.
Public Service Standing Orders – Interdiction defined as temporary preventive removal pending investigation – Interdiction is not a punitive sanction requiring pre-interdiction hearing – Administrative discretion to interdict must be exercised sparingly – Judicial review premature where investigatory/disciplinary process not concluded.
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15 July 2021 |
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Minister’s directive sending applicant on forced leave was unlawful where no properly constituted Board existed.
Administrative law – legality and limits of ministerial directions under section 55 of the Civil Aviation Authority Act – requirement that directions be given to a constituted Authority/Board; forced leave – lawful intent vs lack of statutory authority; judicial review of ultra vires administrative action.
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15 July 2021 |
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Applicant not liable for alleged water charges; court finds no consumption and declares invoice erroneous.
Utility/accounting disputes – water metres – whether customer consumed water after vacating premises – reliance on meter readings and unchallenged testimony. Evidence – failure to challenge material evidence results in admission; application of balance of probabilities. Remedies – declaratory relief and costs where disputed invoice issued in error.
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15 July 2021 |
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High Court dismisses revision: no proof property exceeded Grade One Magistrate's UGX 20,000,000 pecuniary jurisdiction.
Civil procedure – Revision under section 83 Civil Procedure Act – Magistrate Grade One pecuniary jurisdiction – value of subject matter to be proved by evidence/valuation report; Affidavit sufficiency – source of information; Service of process – requirements and verification of person accepting service; Spousal consent alleged but not determinative of jurisdiction.
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9 July 2021 |
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Eviction without a court order is illegal; handover of property can be proven by signed inventory and witnesses; monetary loss claims require strict proof.
Rent law – Rent Restriction Act – requirement of a court order and notice before eviction. Civil procedure – evidence – necessity of strict proof for monetary losses. Property – handover of tenant’s goods – role of inventory and witness testimony. Damages – discretionary general damages upheld; special/monetary loss requires proof.
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9 July 2021 |
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9 July 2021 |
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Appeal dismissed for failure to obtain mandatory leave under Order 44(2) and (3) of the Civil Procedure Rules.
Civil Procedure – appeals from magistrates’ courts – Order 44(2) & (3) CPR – leave required for appeals from unlisted interlocutory orders – mandatory procedural compliance; Inherent powers (s.98 CPA) cannot cure lack of leave; Contempt proceedings – survivorship/substitution and elements not determined where appeal incompetent.
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8 July 2021 |
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Consent judgment set aside for material misrepresentation and an unauthorized affidavit; costs awarded to the applicant.
Civil procedure — Consent judgment — When consent may be set aside: fraud, mistake, misrepresentation or contravention of court policy. Agency and evidence — Affidavit validity — Deponent must have authority (power of attorney or proper office) to depose for a party; lack of authority renders affidavit illegal. Remedies — Setting aside consent judgment and costs follow the event.
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8 July 2021 |
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Registrar may rectify a company register despite arbitration, but must afford a minimal quasi‑judicial hearing and take evidence.
Companies Act – Registrar’s powers – rectification of register (Regulation 8) – Arbitration clause does not oust Registrar’s statutory duty; Quasi‑judicial function – requirement of minimal natural justice and evidence (s288) – failure to take statutory declarations/viva voce evidence vitiates decision; Procedural irregularity – review and remit for rehearing.
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7 July 2021 |
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Suspension of open‑air live broadcasts was a lawful, proportionate limitation under the Electronic Media Act after licence breaches and incitive content.
• Constitutional law — Freedom of expression — limitation permitted if prescribed by law, pursues legitimate aim, and is necessary and proportionate. • Media regulation — Electronic Media Act 1996 — licensing and outside‑broadcast authorisation required. • Broadcasting — scarce spectrum/public interest justification for regulation; suspension justified when licence conditions and minimum standards breached. • Public order — complaints of abusive, sectarian and incitive content warranted regulatory intervention.
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7 July 2021 |
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Plaintiff awarded USD 124,143 plus damages and costs after defendant issued dishonoured cheques and failed counterclaim.
Contract formation — acknowledgement as evidence; Cheques — post‑dated/dishonoured cheques as breach/payment evidence; Approbate and reprobate doctrine; Unjust enrichment/money had and received — burden of proof; Remedies — award of debt, general damages, interest and costs.
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7 July 2021 |
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A brief incidental image in a truthful news report did not amount to actionable defamation absent proof it referred to the plaintiff.
Defamation – meaning and test – whether words or images in context would lower claimant in estimation of right‑thinking members of society. Burden of proof – claimant must prove publication referred to him and the resulting harm; publisher may rely on truth and bona fide reporting. Contextual interpretation – entire broadcast must be considered; an incidental, brief image does not necessarily impute defamatory meaning. Media law – reporters entitled to rely on information from police press conferences where reporting is honest and not misleading.
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7 July 2021 |
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Application for judicial review dismissed for failure to exhaust statutory appeal to the Public Service Commission.
Judicial review – limitation period – cause of action date; Administrative law – exhaustion of alternative statutory remedies – appeal to Public Service Commission under section 59(2) Local Government Act; Prerogative remedies unavailable where adequate alternative remedy exists.
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7 July 2021 |
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Whether the plaintiff validly terminated the tenancy and is entitled to eviction and rent recovery.
Tenancy – Termination by notice under written agreement; implied periodic tenancy and landlord conduct; tenant at sufferance/trespasser; remedies – eviction, rent recovery; requirement for lawful eviction and reasonable force.
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7 July 2021 |
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A supporting affidavit lacking the commissioning officer’s name and grade is incurably defective and the application was struck out.
Commissioner for Oaths Act Cap 5 – jurat particulars – requirement to state name and grade of commissioning officer; Jurat defects – curable vs incurable – need for supplementary affidavit to cure deficiency; Authority of deponent – capacity to swear on behalf of institution; Article 126(2)(e) – limits of curing substantive defects; Striking out notice of motion when supporting affidavit is defective.
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2 July 2021 |
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Applicant failed to show good reason to extend time to file judicial review; application dismissed with costs.
Judicial review — extension of time under Rule 5(1) (three‑month limit); requirement to show good reason for delay; exhaustion of alternative statutory remedies; supervisory nature of judicial review (illegality, irrationality, procedural impropriety); evidential burden — he who asserts must prove; void contract for common mistake where subject matter does not exist.
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2 July 2021 |
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2 July 2021 |
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Applicant's request for JSC and third‑party documents denied due to statutory confidentiality and mandatory Chairperson consent.
Access to Information Act 2005 – s.28(1)(b) – exemption for records supplied in confidence by third parties; disclosure may be refused where it would prejudice future supply and contrary to public interest. Judicial Service Act – s.16 – communications between JSC and President not producible without Chairperson's written consent. Discovery – confidential third‑party material and meeting minutes reflecting such material are exempt from compelled disclosure absent consent or compelling justification.
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1 July 2021 |