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Kare Distribution Limited and Another v NCBA Bank Uganda Limited (Civil Application 101 of 2023)

Court of Appeal · [2023] UGCA 159 · 2023 Application Dismissed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application before a single Justice of the Court of Appeal for an interim order of injunction pending hearing of a substantive application for a temporary injunction, arising from Civil Appeal No. 93 of 2023.
Decision
Application for interim injunction dismissed as an abuse of court process

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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 single Justice dismissed an application for an interim injunction restraining the respondent bank from dealing with mortgaged land and motor vehicles. The court held that the properties sought to be protected were not the subject matter of the lower court application (Misc. Application No. 0135 of 2023) or of the pending Civil Appeal No. 93 of 2023, which concerned only the reinstatement of a struck-out application. The court found the application to be a clear abuse of court process, noting that the applicants and their counsel had deliberately concealed the existence of a consent judgment in High Court Civil Suit No. 637 of 2018 in an attempt to mislead the court. The application was dismissed with costs.

Facts

The first applicant obtained three loan facilities and an overdraft from Commercial Bank of Africa Uganda Limited (later NCBA Bank Uganda Limited), totalling about UGX 6,230,000,000, secured by land at Makerere and several motor vehicles. The applicants defaulted, leading to High Court Civil Suit No. 637 of 2018, in which a consent judgment was entered acknowledging indebtedness and setting a payment schedule. The applicants' attempt to set aside the consent judgment (Misc. Application No. 1015 of 2018) was dismissed, and an appeal (Civil Appeal No. 245 of 2021) remained pending. The applicants then filed Misc. Application No. 1670 of 2022 alleging full repayment; the respondent applied to strike it out, and Justice Mubiru struck it out on 15 February 2023. The applicants appealed (Civil Appeal No. 93 of 2023) seeking reinstatement, and brought the present interim injunction application to restrain dealings with the secured properties pending that appeal and a substantive injunction application.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants could obtain an interim injunction protecting properties that were not the subject matter of the application and appeal from which the application arose.
  2. Whether the application amounted to an abuse of court process.

Orders

  • The application is dismissed with costs to the Respondent.
  • The Applicant is to bear 50% of the costs, as is the advocate on record.

Key headnotes

Injunctions — Interim Injunction — Subject Matter of the Appeal
An interim injunction cannot be granted to protect property that was not the subject matter of the lower court application or of the appeal from which the injunction application arises.
Abuse of Court Process — Concealment of Material Facts
An application brought while deliberately concealing material facts, such as the existence of a consent judgment underlying the dispute, constitutes an abuse of court process and will not be entertained.
Advocates — Duty as Officers of the Court
Advocates are first and foremost officers of the court whose duty is to assist the court in arriving at a just decision; failure to disclose material facts breaches that duty and may attract a personal costs order against the advocate.

Legislation cited (5)

  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions SI 13-10 r.2(2)
  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions SI 13-10 r.6(2)(b)
  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions SI 13-10 r.43(1)
  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions SI 13-10 r.44(1)
  • Mortgage Regulations 2012 reg.13(1)
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.