Uganda Bankers Credit & Saving Society v Nansubuga & 2 Ors (Civil Application No. 247 of 2018)

Court of Appeal · [2019] UGCA 356 · 2019 Application Dismissed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download

Jurisdiction

Uganda

Case Type

Application for review before a full bench of the Court of Appeal seeking to set aside an interim order issued by a single justice in a related civil application

Decision

Application for review dismissed with costs to the first and second respondents

The full judgment

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AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions — always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The Court of Appeal dismissed an application for review of an interim order issued by a single justice. It held that its inherent powers under Rule 2(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules do not extend to such an application. A decision of a single justice must be reviewed by that same justice, and may only reach a full bench by way of a reference under section 12(2) of the Judicature Act. The Court further held that it is not a court of first instance save where the law specifically provides; the applicant purchaser should have instituted a separate original action to establish its rights against the respondents. The application was dismissed with costs to respondents one and two.

Facts

Respondents one and two, with others, sued in High Court Civil Suit No. 64 of 2008 to recover land at Busiro Block 396 Plot 37, Bweya. The High Court found the land had been fraudulently transferred but held the third respondent to be a bona fide purchaser for value without notice, ordering compensation and damages. Respondents one and two appealed and, in Civil Application No. 202 of 2018, sought a temporary injunction; a single justice issued an interim order on 24 July 2018 maintaining the status quo. The applicant, Uganda Bankers Credit and Savings Society, had purchased the same land from the third respondent on 4 July 2018 for UGX 770,000,000 following a search showing no encumbrances, and was put in possession. Police later stopped the applicant from grading the land relying on the interim order. The applicant, not a party to Civil Application No. 202 of 2018, brought the present application before a full bench seeking review and setting aside of that interim order.

Issues

Whether the Court of Appeal, sitting as a full bench, could exercise its inherent powers under Rule 2(2) to review and set aside an interim order made by a single justice in a pending application.
Whether a non-party purchaser could use an application for review to establish a proprietary interest in the suit land.

Orders

Application dismissed.
Costs awarded to the first and second respondents.

Key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Review — Decision of single justice must be reviewed by same justice; full bench reached only by reference

A decision of a single justice of the Court of Appeal in an interlocutory matter must be brought before that same justice for review, and may come before a full bench only by way of a reference under section 12(2) of the Judicature Act.

Civil Procedure — Inherent powers — Rule 2(2) Court of Appeal Rules — Limits of inherent jurisdiction

The inherent power of the Court under Rule 2(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules, though wide, must be exercised judiciously and cannot be invoked where doing so would defeat the purpose of the law or supplant the established procedure for review of a single justice's decision.

Civil Procedure — Court of Appeal not a court of first instance — Separate action required to establish proprietary interest

The Court of Appeal is not a court of first instance save in matters specifically provided for by law; a person seeking to establish a proprietary interest in land must institute a separate and original action rather than do so through an application for review.

Legislation cited (2)

Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions S.I 13-10 Rule 2(2)
Judicature Act s.12(2)

Cases cited (6)

[1993] UGSC 2
Ismail Jaffer Allibhai & 2 Others v Nandlal Harjivan Karia & Anor (Civil Appeal No. 53 of 1995)
[2018] UGSC 43
Lawrence Musitwa Kyazze v Eunice Busingye (Civil Application No. 18 of 1990)
Mohamed Alibahai v W.E Bukenya & Anor (Civil Appeal No. 56 of 1996)
[2011] UGCA 2

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.