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Were v Mutibwa Mugaiula and Another (Civil Appeal No. 22 of 2013)

Court of Appeal · [2020] UGCA 2175 · 2020 Appeal Dismissed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from the High Court (Civil Division) in which the appellant sought to withdraw the appeal by consent after hearing but before judgment
Decision
Appeal dismissed as withdrawn by consent of the parties, leave having been granted by the Court on its own motion

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Holding

The appellant sought to withdraw the appeal by consent under Rule 94(3) of the Court of Appeal Rules after the matter had been heard and was pending judgment. The Court held that Rule 94(3) applies only where an appeal is still pending hearing, and that an appeal already heard and awaiting judgment cannot be withdrawn without leave of Court, following Geoffrey Gatete v William Kyobe. Given the COVID-19 lockdown circumstances, the Court granted leave on its own motion under Rule 2(2) and dismissed the appeal as withdrawn by consent, declining to strike it out under Rule 94(3). No order as to costs.

Facts

The appeal had been heard on 10 December 2018, with both parties proceeding by way of written submissions, after which judgment was reserved. Before judgment could be delivered, the appellant filed a Notice of withdrawal of the appeal, consented to by the respondents, on 3 March 2020, purportedly under Rule 94(3) of the Rules of the Court of Appeal. The consent withdrawal was therefore filed after the appeal had been called for hearing and was only pending judgment. The Country was at the time under lockdown due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Issues

  1. Whether an appeal that has been called for hearing and is pending judgment can be withdrawn by consent under Rule 94(3) of the Rules of the Court of Appeal.
  2. Whether the Court could grant leave on its own motion for the appellant to withdraw the appeal.

Orders

  • Leave granted on the Court's own motion under Rule 2(2) for the appellant to withdraw the appeal.
  • Appeal dismissed, having been withdrawn by the appellant with the consent of the respondents under Rule 2(2).
  • Court declined to strike out the appeal under Rule 94(3).
  • No order as to costs.

Key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Withdrawal of Appeal — Rule 94(3) Court of Appeal Rules — Applicable only while appeal pending hearing
Rule 94(3) of the Court of Appeal Rules, which permits an appeal to be struck out of the list of pending appeals upon consent of all parties, applies only where the appeal is still pending hearing.
Civil Procedure — Withdrawal of Appeal — Appeal heard and pending judgment requires leave of Court
An appeal that has already been called for hearing and is only pending judgment cannot be withdrawn without the leave of Court.
Civil Procedure — Court's Power — Rule 2(2) Court of Appeal Rules — Grant of leave on own motion
The Court may, under Rule 2(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules, grant leave on its own motion for an appellant to withdraw an appeal that is pending judgment.

Legislation cited (3)

  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions r.94(1)
  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions r.94(3)
  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions r.2(2)

Cases cited (1)

  • Geoffrey Gatete and Angella Maria Nakigonya v William Kyobe (Civil Appeal No. 7 of 2005)
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.