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Citation
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Judgment date
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| May 2024 |
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Applicant's land claim dismissed as time-barred for being filed beyond the 12-year limitation period.
Limitation of actions – recovery of land – accrual of cause of action – 12-year limitation (Item 22, Part I Schedule to the Law of Limitation Act). Pleading requirements – Order VII Rule 6 – obligation to plead grounds for exemption from limitation (sections 20–23)
Procedure – preliminary objection determined ex parte where applicant failed to file ordered reply submissions
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15 May 2024 |
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Ex-parte judgment set aside where publication was used without exhausting prescribed substituted service methods.
Land disputes – Service of summons – Rule 9 GN 174/2003 – Affixation and local/village notice and registered mail to be exhausted before publication – Publication as last resort – Defective service vitiates ex-parte judgment.
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15 May 2024 |
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Whether a jurisdictional preliminary objection based on a prior DLHT decision is a pure point of law; court held factual proof required, objection overruled.
• Civil procedure – jurisdiction – whether prior DLHT decision ousts High Court jurisdiction.• Preliminary objection – must raise a pure point of law; Mukisa test applies.• Identity of land – factual determination required to ascertain whether earlier proceedings concerned same parcel.• Revision vs fresh suit – remedy for persons not party to earlier proceedings is context-dependent and may require substantive inquiry.
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14 May 2024 |
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Dismissal entered on a mention date was set aside and the land suit restored despite counsel's negligence.
Civil procedure – Application to set aside dismissal under Order IX Rule 6(1); advocate’s negligence and sufficiency of cause for non-appearance; distinction between mention and hearing dates – dismissal permissible on hearing date not on mention; restoration of suit and costs order.
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14 May 2024 |
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Appellant failed to plead and prove specific encroachment; evidence departing from pleadings was disregarded and appeal dismissed.
Evidence — burden of proof (s110 Evidence Act); Pleadings — prohibition against departure from pleadings (Order VI r.7 CPC); Land — proof of trespass requires proof of extent; Appellate procedure — abandonment of unargued grounds.
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13 May 2024 |
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Applicant granted extension to challenge ex‑parte decree due to delayed awareness and apparent illegality in substituted service.
Land law — extension of time to set aside ex‑parte judgment — delay reckoned from date of awareness not pronouncement — requirement to account for each day — apparent illegality on face of record (name discrepancy/substituted service) — joinder of administrator after death — tribunal’s discretion and misapplication of 30‑day rule.
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13 May 2024 |
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Court allowed extension of time to apply to set aside dismissal, finding technical delay and applicant's diligence.
Law of Limitation — section 14(1) — extension of time; Lyamuya factors; technical delay vs. actual delay; negligence of previous advocate; apparent illegality on face of record.
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10 May 2024 |
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Administrator's land claim dismissed as time-barred because adverse possession and constructive knowledge predated appointment.
Limitation law – recovery of land (12 years) and arrears of rent (6 years) – effect of administrator's appointment on limitation – adverse possession and constructive knowledge – probate findings and residential licence as evidence.
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10 May 2024 |
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Land Tribunal may enforce a deed of assignment; director who signed personally is liable; interest runs from judgment date.
Land law — jurisdiction of District Land and Housing Tribunal to enforce deeds of assignment and mortgages; Corporate law — personal liability where director signs in personal capacity without company seal or express company execution; Contract law — profit-share obligation under deed not rendered unlawful by absence of business licence; Civil procedure — interest on decretal sums under Order XX r.21(1) runs from judgment date as adjudged.
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10 May 2024 |
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Conceded preliminary objection rendering proceedings incompetent must lead to striking out the application, with costs.
Civil procedure — Preliminary objection — Concession to objection — Incompetent proceedings to be struck out, not dismissed; Affidavit formalities — Attestation by Commissioner for Oaths; Capacity — Non‑citizen standing to sue for land (raised as preliminary objection).
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10 May 2024 |
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Application struck out because the named fund lacks capacity to be sued; suit should name its Board of Trustees.
Administrative law – Statutory bodies – Legal personality and capacity to sue and be sued – Distinction between a statutory fund and its Board of Trustees – Proper party to sue – Preliminary objection – Non-joinder/misjoinder rules (Order 1 r.10 CPC) inapplicable to naming non-juristic entities.
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10 May 2024 |
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Court dismissed suit as functus officio because ownership was previously adjudicated and not set aside.
Civil procedure – res judicata/functus officio – court lacks jurisdiction to re-adjudicate ownership already finally determined by a prior unchallenged judgment. Land law – succession/administration – administrators cannot reopen ownership determinations without setting aside prior judgment
Procedural – court may raise dispositive points suo motu and dispose of matters where prior final judgment exists
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8 May 2024 |
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Injunction dismissed: injunctions cannot be granted against the Attorney General and the applicant failed to prove a triable issue or irreparable harm.
Civil Procedure – Temporary injunction – Order XXXVII proviso bars injunctions against the Attorney General; declaratory relief only. Interim relief – Atilio v Mbowe test – need for triable issue, irreparable harm, balance of convenience
Evidence – affidavit must particularize imminent danger of alienation; submissions are not evidence
Pleadings – delay in probate/administration and failure to identify beneficiaries undermines claim to protect estate property
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7 May 2024 |
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Application for extension of time dismissed: substituted service effective, no apparent illegality, supporting affidavit lacked locus.
Civil procedure – extension of time under s.14 Law of Limitation Act – requirement to show reasonable or sufficient cause
Service – substituted service by publication under Order VI r.16(2) – effect of publication as notice to defendant. Summary suit (Order XXXV) – failure to apply to defend within 21 days deemed admission; judgment on summary suit akin to judgment on admission
Standing – administratrix of deceased director does not automatically have locus to depose for the company
Illegality – alleged jurisdictional defects/arbitration clause must be apparent on face of record to justify extension of time (Lyamuya test)
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7 May 2024 |
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Stay of execution refused because the relied-upon extension application was dismissed, leaving no pending proceeding to justify a stay.
Civil Procedure — Stay of execution under Order XXI Rule 24(1) — Requirement of a pending proceeding (appeal or application challenging decree) — Pendency of extension application — Dismissal of antecedent application overtakes basis for stay — Application dismissed with costs.
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7 May 2024 |
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Beneficiaries lack locus to sue over estate property and an appointed executor cannot be sued personally while probate administration remains pending.
Civil procedure – preliminary objections – locus standi of beneficiaries to sue in respect of estate property; Probate law – executor/legal representative – effect of section 71 PAEA on capacity to be sued; Interplay between probate administration and land disputes; Injunction – competence where estate administration unresolved.
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6 May 2024 |
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Beneficiaries cannot sue in their personal capacity over estate property; executor sued in personal name contrary to s.71, suit struck out.
Probate law; beneficiaries' locus standi to sue on estate property; executor cannot be sued personally on estate matters (s.71 Probate and Administration of Estates Act); suit struck as incompetent where probate remains open.
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6 May 2024 |
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The applicant failed to show a prima facie case or irreparable harm; injunction denied and application dismissed with costs.
Interim injunctions – requirements – Attilio v Mbowe tests: prima facie case; irreparable injury; balance of convenience. Effect of consent judgment – prior consent judgment can preclude a triable issue and bar injunctive relief. Irreparable harm – must be particularised and shown to be uncompensable by damages. Mareva/injunctive relief – applicants’ conclusory affidavits insufficient
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3 May 2024 |
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Court recorded parties' settlement under Order XXIII Rule 3, reducing arrears, fixing instalments and 5% monthly interest.
Civil Procedure – Consent judgment – Deed of Settlement recorded under Order XXIII Rule 3 CPC – enforceability and decree. Contract/Settlement terms – reduction of claim, instalment schedule, legal fees allocation
Remedies – agreed contractual interest (5% per month) on delayed payments and exoneration clause upon full settlement
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2 May 2024 |