HC: Family Division (Uganda)

The Family Division was created in  April 2005 as a division of the high court that handles: Administration causes, Family causes, (Adoption, Guardianship, Affiliation/maintenance), Miscellaneous causes, Miscellaneous applications, Civil appeals, Civil suits, Originating summons, Civil revisions and Divorce cases.

Physical address
Makindye Chief Magistrates' Court at Mobutu Road .
24 judgments
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24 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
December 2021
Applicant granted substituted service, fresh summons and costs where respondent obstructed or refused personal service.
* Civil procedure – substituted service – Order 5 Rule 18 CPR – when personal service is obstructed or refused. * Service – procedure where defendant refuses to acknowledge receipt – return of service and examination of process server (Order 5 Rules 15 and 17). * Fair hearing – Article 28 – balancing notice requirements with practicality of effecting service. * Relief – fresh summons, substituted service, leave to serve out of time, costs.
3 December 2021

 

3 December 2021
An administrator or beneficiary may sue to protect an undivided estate without Order 1 Rule 8 written authority.
Succession Act s.272 – administrators' powers; Legal representative – grant of letters of administration; Civil Procedure Order 1 r.8 – representative actions and written authority; Beneficiaries' locus to sue to preserve undivided estate; Competence of suits by administrator/beneficiary to protect estate.
3 December 2021
November 2021

 

30 November 2021

 

30 November 2021
Court set aside decree nisi and related orders issued without trial, reinstating divorce for full merits hearing.
Family law – setting aside orders – decree nisi issued without trial; property orders based on statements at the bar lacking evidentiary basis; non-appearance excused by medical/hospitalisation – dismissal for want of prosecution set aside; reinstatement of divorce for merits hearing.
29 November 2021
26 November 2021
Where the deceased dies intestate, the surviving spouse has priority to determine burial absent a proven contrary will.
Burial rights – priority of surviving spouse where deceased dies intestate; Succession Act and Administrator General procedures; customary (Baganda/Ndiga) burial practices not absolute and may be displaced by deceased's ascertainable wishes or marital rights; grant of Letters of Administration and requirement of administration bond; courts to apply equity and protect non‑discriminatory marital rights.
23 November 2021

 

19 November 2021

 

19 November 2021
6 November 2021

 

1 November 2021
October 2021
Widow holds proprietary rights over former Plot 200; administrator not generally guilty of mismanagement but must remedy specific wrongs; plaintiffs trespassed.
Succession law – matrimonial property v. estate property – Proprietary rights of surviving spouse; Administrator’s duties and accountability; Intermeddling/trespass on estate land; Adequacy of inventory and family resolution for redistribution; Remedies — restitution, monetary compensation, vacant possession, demolition (limited).
4 October 2021
Applicant’s hospitalisation constituted sufficient cause to extend time to file a defence; ex parte order set aside.
* Civil procedure – extension of time to file defence – sufficient cause – hospitalisation as cause; * Section 98 Civil Procedure Act – inherent jurisdiction to prevent injustice; * Factors for extension: length of delay, reason, prospects of success, prejudice (Mulindwa v Kisubika); * Ex parte orders – may be set aside where adequate cause is shown to file defence; * Article 126(2)(e) Constitution – justice administered without undue regard to technicalities.
1 October 2021
June 2021
Court appointed the biological parent guardian and authorised sale and subdivision of jointly held land in the child’s best interests.
* Guardianship – best interests of the child – biological parent as guardian – sale and subdivision of minor’s land. * Property law – joint tenancy vs tenancy in common – presumption rebutted by lack of contribution; severance and partition. * Children’s Act – requirement that parental actions concerning child’s property not be adverse to child’s interests. * Conveyancing – requirement to register title to minor’s allotted land from sale proceeds.
10 June 2021
Court grants father's guardianship to sell and subdivide land co‑owned with minor, prioritising the child's best interests.
Children’s Act – guardianship – best interests of the child; Sale and subdivision of land owned by a minor; Registration of Titles Act s.56 – joint tenancy presumption vs tenancy in common; need to prove how minor became proprietor; parental consent; safeguards when authorising dealings in minor’s property.
10 June 2021
May 2021
Widow proved lawful marriage; caveat unjustified; plaintiff allowed to seek letters of administration and awarded damages for defamatory conduct.
Succession – entitlement to letters of administration – proof of marriage; validity of church marriage certificates; caveat against grant of administration; gift inter vivos and proof of transfer; defamation arising from pre-grant correspondence; remedies – damages and removal of caveat.
10 May 2021
April 2021
21 April 2021
21 April 2021
March 2021
Court permitted adoption by resident foreign nationals, waiving statutory preconditions because adoption served the child’s best interests.
Adoption law — eligibility of foreign/resident applicants — court’s discretion under Section 46(3) to waive statutory preconditions where exceptional circumstances exist — paramountcy of child’s welfare and ongoing post-adoption welfare reporting.
22 March 2021
Court appointed the mother legal guardian to sell and reinvest minors' land as being in their best interests.
Children Act s3 – welfare of the child paramount; guardianship – appointment to administer minor’s land; requirement to consider child’s wishes (s43F(1)(e)); UNCRC Article 3 (best interests) guidance; court examination of children’s views.
15 March 2021
A valid customary marriage and a properly attested will precluded plaintiffs' beneficiary and intermeddling claims; suit dismissed with costs.
Succession law – validity of customary marriage; testamentary formalities and proof of forgery; intermeddling with estate – exceptions for preservation/management; beneficiary status where gifts were made during lifetime; role of Administrator General in estate receipts.
11 March 2021
Caveat maintained where disputed domicile, competing probate and beneficiary claims require contentious proceedings under Section 265.
Succession law – Caveat – Whether caveat creates prima facie caveatable interest – Contentious probate proceedings – Section 255 (notice to caveator) and Section 265 (procedure in contentious cases) – Jurisdiction and domicile disputes – Administration pendente lite.
5 March 2021
February 2021

 

19 February 2021