Kasiba v Administrator General and Another (Civil Appeal Number 11 of 2009)

Court of Appeal · [2015] UGCA 2026 · 2015 Appeal Dismissed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download

Jurisdiction

Uganda

Case Type

First appeal from a High Court decision dismissing a suit concerning distribution of a deceased's estate

Decision

Appeal dismissed; trial court's refusal to grant remedies upheld on the basis of estoppel by acquiescence

The full judgment

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Holding

The Court of Appeal dismissed a son's appeal seeking cancellation of his sister's registration on title to a property forming part of their late father's estate. While the court disagreed with the trial Judge that a gift inter vivos becomes ineffectual merely because title was untransferred at death (holding a gift is effectual when made), it found the deceased had in fact made no such gift, so the property remained estate property. Nevertheless, the appellant was estopped by acquiescence under section 114 of the Evidence Act, having stood by for over ten years while the second respondent repaired, improved and financed the property. The appeal was dismissed with no order as to costs.

Facts

The appellant, a son and customary heir of the late Butasiyo Bwenza Lule, sued the Administrator General and his sister (the second respondent) over their father's estate. He sought cancellation of the second respondent's registration on the certificate of title for land at Kibuga Block 38 Plot 166, Wandegeya, and redistribution of the property among the deceased's three children. The rest of the estate had been distributed between the appellant and another, while the second respondent received the suit property, claiming it had been given to her as a gift inter vivos. The trial Judge found there was no effective gift inter vivos, as title had never been transferred, but allowed the second respondent to retain the property on the ground that the appellant was estopped, having permitted her to take and use the property for over ten years, during which she repaired, improved and financed it through loans. The appellant only raised objection after depleting most of his own share of the estate.

Issues

Whether the trial Judge erred in failing to grant the remedies sought by the appellant on the basis of estoppel by acquiescence.
Whether a gift inter vivos of registered land becomes ineffectual where the transfer of title was not effected before the grantor's death.

Orders

Appeal dismissed for lack of merit.
No order as to costs as this is a family matter.

Key headnotes

Gift Inter Vivos — Registered Land — Effectuality Where Title Untransferred at Death

A gift inter vivos becomes effectual at the time it is made; the gift of registered land may be valid even if the transfer of title was not effected before the grantor's death, provided the grant was made in writing or expressed in word and deed so that the grantor's intention was unequivocal.

Estate Property — Failed Gift — Property Reverting to Estate

Where the evidence shows the deceased did not in fact grant property as a gift inter vivos, that property remains part of the deceased's estate notwithstanding the recipient's possession.

Estoppel by Acquiescence — Section 114 Evidence Act — Need Not Be Pleaded

Estoppel by acquiescence under section 114 of the Evidence Act prevents a person who had the duty and opportunity to speak but remained silent, leading another to act to their prejudice, from later asserting the withheld fact; as a rule of evidence it need not have been pleaded provided the evidence shows tacit or implied consent to the act.

Estoppel by Acquiescence — Standing By While Another Deals With Property

A party who, having a right, stands by and watches another deal with the property in a manner inconsistent with that right while the act is in progress cannot afterwards complain.

Legislation cited (2)

Evidence Act Cap 6 s.114
Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions (SI 13-10) Rule 30(1)

Cases cited (3)

Kifamunte Henry v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 10 of 1997)
NURDIN RANDALI u LOMBANK LTD (1963) EA 304
Duke of Leeds VS Amherst 1846, 78 RR 47. Phillips 117

Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.