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298 judgments found.
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October 2022
Plaintiffs failed to prove torture, property loss or business disruption; suit dismissed for lack of credible and corroborative evidence.
Constitutional right — freedom from torture; strict evidential standard for establishing torture; burden of proof on claimant; media reports and tribunal findings insufficient to prove individual victimhood; proof of property ownership required for deprivation claims; credibility and corroboration essential in civil rights claims against State actors.
31 October 2022
Court partially revised taxed costs, upholding a UGX 30,000,000 instruction fee but reducing several disbursements under remuneration rules.
Taxation of costs — Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations (Schedule VI) — instruction fees for election petitions — limits and factors (nature, complexity, place, time, public interest). Judicial review of taxing officer — scope of interference limited except where wrong principle or manifest excess/deficiency
Disbursements — perusals included in instruction fees; travel, facilitation and witness transport require evidence; prohibition of double taxation
31 October 2022
A statutory 30‑day appeal period under the Advocates Act cannot be extended absent enabling provision; delay and counsel negligence were not sufficient cause.
Civil procedure — taxation appeal — validity of out-of-time appeal — requirement to seek extension prior to filing when statute prescribes time limit
Advocates Act s.62(1) — 30-day statutory appeal period to High Court against taxing officer — specific statute displaces general extension powers. Extension of time — sufficiency of cause — negligence of counsel and COVID-19 lockdown held not satisfactorily proved to excuse delay. Procedural irregularity — filing appeal before seeking validation/extension is impermissible
31 October 2022
The respondent’s suit, commenced by disputed directors without proper company authority, was dismissed for lack of authority.
Company law — authority to sue — capacity of a company to sue and be sued — necessity for proper internal authority/resolution before committing company to litigation. Civil procedure — striking out pleadings — Order 6 r.30 (pleading discloses no reasonable cause of action). Corporate governance — disputed director appointments and management coups — internal disputes should be resolved by proper channels, not by binding the company without proper authorization
31 October 2022
Directors acting in their corporate capacity were not in contempt where the injunction was personam against other named individuals.
Contempt of court — requirement of clear, unambiguous personam order; injunctions in personam do not automatically bind other directors; directors' corporate acts may not constitute contempt absent agency or direct restraint.
31 October 2022
Application for judicial review of title cancellation dismissed: out of time; Commissioner lawfully corrected register and procedural fairness upheld.
Administrative law — judicial review — limitation and extension of time for judicial review; Land law — powers of Commissioner of Land Registration to rectify register errors and cancel titles; Procedural fairness — Article 42 administrative fairness vs Article 28 right to a court hearing; Effect of pendency of court proceedings on Commissioner’s exercise of powers; Service by registered mail and waiver by failure to attend hearing.
31 October 2022
A Magistrate Grade I may issue distress certificates, but such certificates are void where ownership and tenancy are disputed.
Distress for Rent Act — certifying officer — Magistrate Grade I; Jurisdiction — statutory creature of law; Distress for rent — requirements: ownership, landlord–tenant relationship, rent arrears; Pending land dispute and stay of dealings — bar to distress; Revision under section 83 CPA — setting aside illegal/materially irregular orders.
28 October 2022
A distress for rent certificate is void where ownership and tenancy are disputed and a High Court stay restrains dealings.
Distress for rent — jurisdiction of Magistrate Grade I as certifying officer under the Distress for Rent Act; requirement of proven landlord–tenant relationship and proof of ownership before issuing distress; effect of pending High Court proceedings and stay on dealings — certificates issued in such circumstances are null and void.
28 October 2022
Leave to appeal refused; application unserved/tardy and dismissal for want of prosecution an abuse of process.
Civil procedure — Leave to appeal under Order 44/Section 98 — Service requirements under Order 5 Rule 1(2) CPR — Extension of time — Dismissal for want of prosecution — Exercise of judicial discretion to prevent abuse of process — Arguable grounds/serious questions of law for appeal — Costs in public interest litigation.
28 October 2022
An application to release property from attachment is premature where no warrant or execution has been issued.
Civil Procedure — Objector proceedings (Order 22 rules 55, 57) — Attachment — Release from attachment premature where no warrant or execution issued; disputed ownership/fraud allegations require ordinary suit.
28 October 2022
Court reduced manifestly excessive instruction fees in interlocutory consequential-orders application, substituting UGX 2,000,000 and each party bears own costs.
Taxation of costs — instruction fees — whether application for consequential orders is interlocutory or independent suit — application of Sixth Schedule (Rule 1 Part C; paragraph 9(2)) — reduction of manifestly excessive fees.
27 October 2022
26 October 2022
Repossessed property under the Expropriated Properties Act cannot be re-vested; respondent’s interference was ultra vires.
Judicial review — amenability — public body and public law nature of dispute Expropriated Properties Act — effect of repossession certificate — Minister functus officio Illegality/ultra vires — public authority may not reverse repossession or re-vest property absent statutory route Remedies — declarations, certiorari, prohibition and permanent injunction available in judicial review Damages in judicial review — require separate cause of action; not awarded here
25 October 2022
25 October 2022
An NGO’s indefinite cancellation was quashed for lack of a meaningful fair hearing under the NGO Act.
Administrative law — natural justice — right to fair hearing — statutory hearing requirement under s.7(2) of the NGO Act — cancellation of NGO registration — certiorari as remedy — procedural impropriety where notice/service is contested and organisation is factionalised.
24 October 2022
Judicial review allowed: commission’s refusal quashed for failing to consider relevant planning experience and relying on improper criteria.
Administrative law — Judicial review — Illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety; failure to take into account relevant considerations; improper reliance on irrelevant experience requirement; scope of District Service Commission’s decision-making; remedies — quashing decision and prohibition on advertising pending reconsideration.
24 October 2022
Court granted stay of execution pending determination of applicants' challenge to an allegedly fraudulently procured consent order.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution — Proper rule to invoke (Order 22 r.23 vs Order 43) — Court’s discretion to stay — Consent judgments allegedly procured by fraud — Jurisdiction under s.33 Judicature Act and s.98 Civil Procedure Act.
24 October 2022
Applicant failed to prove substantial loss; stay of execution pending appeal refused and application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Order 43 r.4 CPR — Applicant must prove likely substantial loss, absence of undue delay, and provision of security. Taxation appeals — Requirement of evidential proof of irreparable/substantial loss beyond decretal sum
Procedural — Arguments unsupported by evidence are insufficient to warrant injunctive relief (stay of execution)
24 October 2022
Strike-out dismissed: plaint discloses a cause of action despite a typographical error; defamation dispute to proceed to hearing.
Defamation — sufficiency of plaint to disclose cause of action — Order 7 r.11 and Order 6 rr.28–30 — misnomer/typographical error not fatal — preliminary objections requiring factual enquiry premature — single defendant may seek strike-out independently.
24 October 2022
Applicants’ dilatory conduct and failure to show a prima facie defence disentitle them from setting aside the default judgment.
Civil procedure — setting aside default judgment — requirements to show good cause and disclose a prima facie defence likely to succeed. Advocacy error — mistake of counsel may excuse default but not where litigant failed to exercise due diligence or was privy to the default. Duty of litigant — obligation to follow up with counsel and ensure prosecution of the case
Discretion — court must form a provisional view of likely success before revoking default judgment
24 October 2022
Court refused interlocutory/default judgment where defence was not served in time due to counsel’s negligence.
Civil procedure — Default/interlocutory judgment — Written statement of defence — filing (court record endorsement) vs service — advocate negligence — discretionary refusal of default judgment under s.33 Judicature Act.
24 October 2022
Appeal dismissed: affidavit by advocate/unauthorized deponent defective; taxation not manifestly excessive and stands.
Advocates Act/Procedure — Affidavits — Corporate appellant must be represented by a recognized agent; advocate deponent limited to matters within personal knowledge — defective affidavit can render appeal defective; Taxation of costs — pre‑taxation meeting mandatory but failure to attend when given opportunity may not vitiate taxation; High Court will interfere with taxing officer only for error in principle or manifestly excessive award.
24 October 2022
High Court dismissed internet-shutdown challenge as improperly filed public-interest constitutional matter and an abuse of process.
Constitutional and administrative law — forum and competence — public interest human rights enforcement actions must be filed in the Constitutional Court under Article 137 and the Enforcement Rules (Rule 7(2)). Civil procedure — abuse of process and res judicata — re‑litigation of matters finally determined by a competent court is impermissible
Standing/locus — representative actions require clear mandate or demonstration that represented persons cannot sue in their own names
24 October 2022
Defamation claim dismissed where plaintiff failed to produce radio recording and relied on inadmissible newspaper hearsay.
Defamation — proof of publication — necessity of primary evidence (radio recording) to prove words spoken on air; Newspaper reports as hearsay — inadmissible to prove truth; Departure from pleadings — slander pleaded cannot be substituted by libel evidence; Burden of proof on balance of probabilities; First appeal — reappraisal of evidence and miscarriage of justice where trial court mis-evaluated evidence.
20 October 2022
Failure to reapply after lawful restructuring amounted to self-termination; claim for wrongful dismissal and damages dismissed.
Employment law — contract of employment — effect of project registration as company limited by guarantee and requirement to show transfer under section 28 of the Employment Act
Restructuring/reorganization — employer prerogative to reorganize due to donor withdrawal; requirement to notify and consult staff. Constructive/self-termination — failure to comply with lawful directive to reapply construed as resignation/self-termination. Proof of special damages — requirement that special damages be pleaded and proved; unauthenticated documentary evidence insufficient (NSSF remittance)
20 October 2022
The applicant was awarded compensation and damages after government compulsorily acquired land without prior payment.
Land law — Compulsory acquisition under public policy (Ranch Restructuring) — Constitutional protection against deprivation without prompt, fair and adequate compensation (Art.26) — Limitation under s.187 RTA and accrual: valuation/acceptance vs title cancellation — Judgment on admission (O.13 r.6 CPR) based on government correspondence and valuer's report — Forged/suspect deed of surrender — Quantum: assessed compensation, general and aggravated damages, interest and costs.
20 October 2022
The applicants' human-rights enforcement suit was dismissed for procedural defects, defective affidavits, late service and non-retrospective statute.
Constitutional and human-rights enforcement — representative actions — requirements of O.1 r.8 CPR (leave, notice/list) — failure renders suit incompetent; Procedure — notice of motion must be supported by affidavits and served within O.5 r.1 time limits; detached jurats render affidavits incurably defective; Statute — Human Rights (Enforcement) Act 2019 is not retrospective for violations predating enactment.
20 October 2022
First appellate court upholds district allocation and respondent’s ownership; appellants fail to prove communal title or valid representative defence.
Land law — ownership dispute — allocation by District Land Board and Area Land Committee report; communal/customary ownership — requirement to prove exclusive occupation and linkage to association; representative defence — necessity of authority/leave to represent communal members; procedural capacity — deceased and non-existent defendants.
20 October 2022
Application to compel graduation dismissed for failure to prove the university had resumed or authorised the Juba centre.
Judicial review — amenability and discretionary rule on exhaustion of alternative remedies — administrative decision alleged denial of recognition and clearance for graduation; proof required to show suspension of study centre lifted; representation and locus; preliminary objections on amendment and authority to depose.
19 October 2022
Application for stay of execution dismissed for prematurity, lack of evidence of substantial loss, security or imminent execution.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Requirements under Order 43 r.4(3) — notice of appeal, absence of unreasonable delay, security, substantial loss, likelihood of success, imminent threat of execution
Execution — Extraction of decree alone does not constitute proof of imminent execution without an application for execution or other steps. Prematurity and abuse of process — Applications for stay must be supported by factual basis showing real risk and loss
18 October 2022
Applicant allowed to correct typographical land description; amendment not a new cause of action nor unduly prejudicial.
Civil procedure — Amendment of pleadings — Order 6 rule on amendment — typographical error in description of land — whether amendment introduces new cause of action — prejudice and costs — procedural defect in affidavit annexures not fatal to competence of affidavit.
18 October 2022
An examinations committee lawfully suspended a centre for malpractice; judicial review dismissed with costs.
Administrative law — Judicial review — locus standi under Judicial Review Rules; Examinations regulatory powers — delegation to committee; Examination malpractice vs criminal offence; Natural justice — adequacy of hearing notice, absence of bias; Rationality review — limits of merits review.
17 October 2022
14 October 2022
Stay of judicial review orders will not be granted absent special circumstances, a proper appeal and requisite protections.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — requirements: likelihood of success, irreparable harm, no undue delay, security for due performance. Judicial review — heightened circumspection before staying orders that correct illegality by public bodies; stays may perpetuate wrongful conduct
Enforcement — remedies for non‑compliance with judicial review orders include contempt proceedings
Appeals — requirement for appropriate leave where applicable to appeals from orders made on application
14 October 2022
Section 93 of the Employment Act does not oust Magistrates’ concurrent jurisdiction over employment disputes.
Employment law — jurisdiction — Section 93 Employment Act 2006 — whether Labour Officer’s jurisdiction ousts Magistrates’ Courts — concurrent versus exclusive forum. Civil procedure — revisional jurisdiction — High Court’s powers under section 83 CPA to examine correctness, legality and regularity of subordinate courts’ proceedings. Constitutional supremacy — Article 139 and Magistrates’ Courts Act section 208 — strict construction of provisions purporting to oust ordinary courts’ jurisdiction
Precedent — Ozuu Brothers; Former Employees of G4S; Meera Investments — alternative forums and election of remedy
14 October 2022
Applicant seeking joinder as co-defendant failed to prove equitable interest in disputed land; application dismissed.
Civil procedure — Joinder of parties (O.1 r.3 CPR) — Requirement of demonstrable interest — Equitable interest — Customary/ritual use insufficient without evidence — Court’s discretion in adding parties — Reliance on joint verification and survey report.
14 October 2022
Applicant awarded UGX 12 billion compensation for land occupied by state‑settled squatters; attorney’s authority and estoppel upheld.
Land law — compensation for land occupied by state‑settled squatters; Power of Attorney — authority to prosecute/continue enforcement actions; Cause of action and limitation — admissions reviving claim; Administrative law — promissory estoppel and legitimate expectation; Evidence — acceptance of private valuation where government valuation absent.
11 October 2022
A subsequent suit duplicating issues already finally decided is res judicata, moot, and will be struck out with costs.
Civil procedure — res judicata — where a matter has been heard and finally decided by a court of competent jurisdiction, subsequent actions on the same cause are barred; Mootness — courts refuse to decide academic or overtaken disputes; Abuse of process — High Court’s inherent power under s.17(2) Judicature Act to prevent relitigation; Striking out — appropriate remedy where res judicata and lack of live controversy established.
10 October 2022
High Court has jurisdiction; URA’s additional tax assessment unlawful where income predated the plaintiff’s partnership membership.
Jurisdiction — High Court’s residual/original jurisdiction in tax disputes involving interpretation of non-tax statutes (Partnership Act). Partnership law — admission date determines liability for prior firm liabilities; s.19 Partnership Act protects new partners from pre-admission liabilities
Taxation — partnerships not taxable entities; partners taxed individually; burden on tax authority to prove undeclared income. Administrative law — obligation on tax authority to consider taxpayer’s evidence when determining objections
7 October 2022
A political party's nomination of a sole EALA candidate is subject to judicial review; courts avoid intervening absent illegality.
Constitutional & administrative law — Judicial review — political parties defined as public bodies under Judicature (Judicial Review) (Amendment) Rules 2019 — appropriate procedure to challenge party decisions. Civil procedure — Inherent jurisdiction vs statutory remedies — need to exhaust internal remedies and follow prescribed statutory routes. Electoral law — Nomination to EALA — partner states/parties have discretion; treaty and parliamentary rules do not mandate multiple party nominees. Party law — Non‑interference in internal party decisions absent illegality, unreasonableness or bad faith
6 October 2022
4 October 2022
Trial court improperly issued arrest warrant and ordered pre‑trial security without cogent evidence; orders set aside.
Civil procedure — arrest/attachment before judgment (Order 40 r.1 CPR) — evidential threshold for issuing warrant; pre‑trial security — improper ordering of deposit/title before defence; Order 36 procedure — service and leave to appear and defend; right to fair hearing.
4 October 2022
September 2022
30 September 2022
Whether actions altering the applicant's employment status and advertising his post amounted to contempt of court.
Contempt of court — preservation of status quo by injunction — effect of injunction on prior acts and on fixed-term employment contracts; expiry by effluxion of time; necessity for specificity in contempt allegations; protection of council members acting in good faith under university charter.
30 September 2022
Judicial review dismissed because applicant failed to exhaust statutory internal remedies under the Universities Act.
Administrative law — Judicial review — requirement to exhaust statutory internal remedies before seeking judicial review under Rule 7A
Employment law — Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act — Appointments Board and University Staff Tribunal as exclusive/primary remedies for staff disputes
Procedural competence — forum shopping and premature invocation of judicial review
Public finance — appointment of Accounting Officers falls within statutory procedures (not decided on merits)
30 September 2022
Cancellation of land titles on alleged fraud was beyond the Commissioner’s jurisdiction; cancellations quashed and titles restored.
Administrative law — Judicial review — Illegality, procedural impropriety and irrationality — Commissioner of Land Registration’s power to cancel titles — Distinction between cancellation for ‘errors/illegalities’ and cancellation for fraud; fraud requires court determination.
30 September 2022
30 September 2022
Magistrates’ court improperly entertained a compensation claim beyond its pecuniary jurisdiction; proceedings set aside.
Civil procedure — joinder of parties — Order 10 r.2 CPR; Res judicata — S.7 CPA and competence of LC III judgments; Jurisdiction — pecuniary limits of Magistrates’ Courts (S.207 MCA) and nullity of proceedings without jurisdiction.
29 September 2022
Magistrate’s court had jurisdiction over a contract‑for‑services dispute and lawfully imposed conditional security for costs.
Revision — High Court review of magistrates’ proceedings; Jurisdiction — distinction between contract of service and contract for services; Employment Act s.93 — remedies via labour officer do not oust magistrate jurisdiction where relationship is contract for services; Civil Procedure — Order 9 rr.12 & 27 CPR — court may set aside ex parte judgment on such terms as it thinks fit, including security for costs; Terms of orders — court may impose terms without parties specifically praying for them.
29 September 2022
Plaintiffs failed to prove fraud; defendant’s registered title upheld and counterclaim for ownership, access, injunction and damages granted.
Land law — registration and title — a certificate of title is conclusive in absence of proven fraud; fraud must be pleaded with particulars and strictly proved
Evidence — burden of proof in civil claims lies on the party alleging fraud; mere surveyor error not proof of fraud by title holder
Remedies — dismissal of claim to cancel title; declaratory relief, injunction, access order and damages for successful counterclaimant
22 September 2022