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Citation
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Judgment date
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| May 2022 |
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31 May 2022 |
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Contentious succession disputes and alleged forgery cannot be resolved by affidavit motion; an ordinary suit is required.
* Civil procedure – Succession disputes – Whether contentious allegations concerning administration, forgery and ownership can be determined on affidavit motion – Proper procedure under Section 265 Succession Act is ordinary suit. * Allegations of fraud must be pleaded with particulars (O.6 r.2 CPR). * Section 98 Civil Procedure Act and O.52 CPR cannot be used to decide complex, contested factual disputes in succession matters.
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31 May 2022 |
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Interdiction by a Chief Administrative Officer under public service regulations was lawful; application dismissed with costs.
Judicial review – Interdiction of public officer – Uganda Public Service Standing Orders (2021) – Lawful exercise of a responsible officer’s power to interdict pending investigation; Local Government Act – Chief Administrative Officer’s functions and immunity (s.64, s.173) – Vicarious liability of Local Government; Standard of proof in judicial review – procedural impropriety and natural justice; Court’s reluctance to interfere in ongoing disciplinary/criminal investigations.
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26 May 2022 |
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Appellant failed to prove unlawful removal of her uterus; appeal dismissed for lack of probative evidence.
* Medical negligence – burden of proof – plaintiff must prove on balance of probabilities that an unlawful hysterectomy occurred. * Conflicting medical evidence – inconclusive expert reports resolved in favour of respondent. * Appeal timing – time to appeal runs from certification/availability of lower tribunal record. * Medical & Dental Practitioners Act – attendance and representation at inquiry: complainant need not attend every stage; council counsel may prosecute.
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26 May 2022 |
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Respondent failed to prove ownership of four acres; only 20 yards established, appeal allowed and trial decision set aside.
Land law – proof of title and possession – burden of proof; Evidence Act s.101 & s.103 – he who alleges must prove; Extrinsic/oral evidence cannot be used to vary written agreement; Locus in quo – purpose and proper conduct; Costs – follow the event, appellate discretion.
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26 May 2022 |
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Application challenging lack of regulation on unhealthy food advertising dismissed for failure to exhaust statutory complaints procedure.
Administrative law - exhaustion of statutory remedies; Communications Act 2013 - Commission’s mandate to set standards, receive and investigate complaints; jurisdictional preliminary objections; premature filing of suit.
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25 May 2022 |
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A prior judgment on the same defamatory publication bars a later defamation suit by res judicata.
Civil procedure – computation of time – Order 51 r.4 holiday exclusion; Defamation – same publication adjudicated in earlier proceedings; Res judicata – prior hearing on merits between same parties or their privies bars subsequent suit; Privity/agency – journalists as agents of publisher do not create new cause of action.
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20 May 2022 |
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Procedural irregularities do not invalidate the MOU; the respondent breached it by halting the applicant’s renovations.
Contract law — validity of Memorandum of Understanding; Local government corporate capacity and indoor management (Turquand) rule; Procedural/non‑compliance with procurement rules does not automatically vitiate contract unknown to outsider; Breach for wrongful interruption of performance; Damages and commencement of tenancy tied to certificate of practical completion.
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20 May 2022 |
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Judicial review dismissed as premature for failure to exhaust university appeal remedies; costs awarded.
Judicial review — necessity to exhaust internal/statutory remedies before filing; Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act s.45(3)–(4) — appeal to Senate/University Council; premature application; judicial restraint where alternative appeal exists; procedural fairness/natural justice raised but not reached.
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17 May 2022 |
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Court granted stay of execution pending appeal, finding notice filed and delay excused, conditioned on security payment.
Civil procedure — stay of execution pending appeal; notice of appeal; unreasonable delay and sufficient cause; risk of rendering appeal nugatory; requirement of security for due performance.
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16 May 2022 |
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The respondent unlawfully withdrew the applicant's renewed lease without hearing; the reallocation to a third party was lawful; damages awarded.
* Administrative law – Judicial review – amenability where public body creates legitimate expectation and withdraws grant without hearing. * Natural justice – audi alteram partem – renewal of lease created expectation requiring opportunity to be heard before rescission. * Public authority land allocation – statutory allocation powers and protection of third-party registered title. * Remedies – certiorari to quash procedurally improper decision and award of general damages for wrongful administrative action.
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13 May 2022 |
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Applicant’s constitutional enforcement claim dismissed for abusing procedure, failing to exhaust statutory remedies, and causing delay.
* Administrative law – judicial review – three‑month limitation for applications and need for promptness; * Constitutional remedies – Human Rights (Enforcement) Act cannot be used to circumvent statutory administrative remedy frameworks; * Exhaustion of alternative remedies – requirement to pursue remedies under Judicial Service Commission Act before constitutional enforcement; * Abuse of process – litigant’s conduct contributing to delay precludes relief; * Right to fair hearing – delay caused by applicant’s objections does not establish violation.
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11 May 2022 |
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Indefinite suspension without timeframe is irregular; respondent must afford a hearing within one month.
• Administrative law – judicial review – scope: review of decision-making process, not merits.• NGO law – Non-Governmental Organisations Act 2016 – powers to suspend or revoke permits (ss.7, 33) and filing obligations (s.39).• Suspension vs indefinite suspension – lack of timeframe renders decision irregular and potentially unreasonable.• Natural justice – show‑cause correspondence may suffice as opportunity to be heard for administrative bodies; requirement for expeditious conclusion.• Remedies – order to afford hearing and remedy procedural irregularity; costs awarded between parties.
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9 May 2022 |
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Application to pierce corporate veil dismissed for failure to prove fraud; enforcement must proceed by execution.
Companies law – Lifting the corporate veil under s.20 Companies Act – fraud or deliberate dishonesty required; evidential standard higher than ordinary civil claims; enforcement of decrees and concealed assets is to be pursued in execution proceedings (s.34 Civil Procedure Act).
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9 May 2022 |
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Successor advocate cannot tax costs for prior advocate's work without a separately annexed bill; disbursements need proof.
Taxation of costs – advocate on record – successor advocate cannot tax for prior advocate's work without separate annexed bill; disbursements require proof; appellate interference with taxing officer limited to exceptional cases.
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9 May 2022 |
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Suspension of a bailiff's licence is appealable; review is limited to procedural fairness and legality, not merits; suspension upheld.
* Administrative law – regulatory discipline – appealability of suspension under Rule 8 of Judicature (Court Bailiffs) Rules; interpretation in favour of access to judicial review.
* Civil procedure – computation of appeal time – period runs from notification of disciplinary decision.
* Natural justice – requirement of fair hearing in administrative disciplinary proceedings; informal notice acceptable in context.
* Administrative bodies – legality and scope of a licensing and disciplinary committee established under a regulator's statutory powers.
* Judicial review – limited to procedure and legality, not substitution on merits of disciplinary findings or re-opening prior judicial orders.
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9 May 2022 |
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Foreign partnership lacked locus; Registrar unlawfully halted registration due to arbitration, but was entitled to hear affected parties.
Administrative law – judicial review – locus to sue – foreign partnership not proven/registered; Companies law – powers of Registrar – Regulation 15, 17 and 8 – arbitration referral does not suspend Registrar’s statutory duty absent court injunction; Procedural fairness – Registrar entitled to hear affected parties before deciding.
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9 May 2022 |
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Freezing accredited diplomatic organisation’s accounts without adequate verification breached the bank’s duties; court ordered immediate unfreezing and declaratory relief.
* Banking law – banker–customer relationship – duty to act on lawful instructions of accredited account signatories; improper reliance on third-party foreign instructions.
* Diplomatic/Host Agreement – inviolability and immunity of accounts – Article 14 obligations and accreditation by Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
* Relief – declaratory relief and mandatory order to unfreeze accounts; costs; no general or exemplary damages awarded.
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9 May 2022 |
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Applicant failed to show sufficient cause for a stay of execution pending appeal; application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – Stay of execution – O.43 r.4(3) CPR – requirements: notice of appeal; substantial loss; no unreasonable delay; security for due performance – balance of convenience – trespass and eviction rights.
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6 May 2022 |
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4 May 2022 |
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4 May 2022 |