J.L.Okello v Uganda National Examination Board (Civil Appeal 12 of 1987)

Supreme Court · [1988] UGSC 1 · 1988 Appeal Allowed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download

Jurisdiction

Uganda

Case Type

Civil appeal from the High Court's dismissal of a suit for a declaration of title, an injunction and general damages

Decision

Appeal allowed; the High Court's dismissal of the suit set aside, the appellant (the registered proprietor) being entitled to judgment, with costs in both courts

The full judgment

Read the complete, verbatim text of this judgment.

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 5 (treatment unverified) Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

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Holding

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal. A certificate of title under section 56 of the Registration of Titles Act is conclusive evidence of proprietorship and cannot be impeached except on the limited grounds, including fraud, in section 184; absent proof of fraud a court cannot go behind registration. Where a defendant challenges a registered title on the ground of fraud, the burden of proving that fraud lies on the party alleging it; the appellant, having produced his certificate of title (Exhibit P1), was entitled to judgment. The trial judge had wrongly struck out the recorded issues without giving reasons and misdirected herself on the burden of proof. The challenge to the trial judge's refusal to award damages failed.

Facts

The East African Examination Council was granted a 99-year lease over the suit property (Leasehold Register Vol. 1253 Folio 9, plot M 207, Mabua Road, Kololo, Kampala) in 1973 on condition that a building be completed within two years. The Council repeatedly failed to comply despite extensions and ceased to exist in 1977 with the collapse of the East African Community. Between 1980 and 1983 the appellant applied to the Uganda Land Commission for the land, was granted it, and obtained a certificate of title on 1 July 1983, after which he began developing the property. The Uganda National Examination Board, established by Act of Parliament in 1983, then interfered with the appellant's workmen and claimed the property. The appellant sued in the High Court for a declaration of title, an injunction and general damages. The respondent's defence alleged the transfer to the appellant was fraudulent but did not appear at trial. The suit was heard ex parte and dismissed on the ground that the appellant had not established his title.

Issues

Whether the trial judge erred in refusing to strike out the written statement of defence which alleged fraud without stating the particulars thereof.
Whether the trial judge erred in striking out the issues she had framed and recorded.
Whether the trial judge erred in failing to appreciate the appellant's evidence of registered proprietorship, which under section 56 of the Registration of Titles Act is conclusive evidence of title.
Whether the burden of proving fraud lay on the appellant or on the respondent.
Whether the trial judge erred in refusing to award the appellant general damages.

Orders

Appeal allowed.
Costs of the appeal and of the court below awarded to the appellant.

Key headnotes

Land & Property — Registration of Titles — Conclusiveness and indefeasibility of a certificate of title

A certificate of title is conclusive evidence that the person named is the registered proprietor and is not impeachable or defeasible except on the limited grounds, including fraud, set out in section 184 of the Registration of Titles Act; in the absence of proved fraud a court cannot go behind the fact of registration.

Evidence — Burden of proof — Allegation of fraud against a registered proprietor

Where a defendant challenges a registered proprietor's title on the ground of fraud, the burden of proving the fraud rests on the party alleging it; the registered proprietor discharges his case by producing the certificate of title and need do no more until fraud is proved.

Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Particulars of fraud under Order 6 rule 2

Although Order 6 rule 2 of the Civil Procedure Rules requires that particulars of fraud, with dates, be stated in the pleadings, an irregularity of form — such as failing to supply dates or to set the particulars under a heading entitled 'Particulars of Fraud' — will not necessarily vitiate the pleading where it has occasioned no prejudice and the impugned instruments are identifiable.

Civil Procedure — Framing of issues — Striking out under Order 13

A trial judge who has framed and recorded issues should not strike them out merely as 'wrongly framed' without indicating in what manner they were wrongly framed; where issues are wrongly framed the proper course is amendment under the court's discretion in Order 13 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Civil Procedure — Right to be heard — Determination of a claim

A party should not be driven from the judgment seat without the court having considered his right to be heard, except in cases where the cause of action is obviously and almost incontestably bad.

Legislation cited (7)

Registration of Titles Act s.56
Registration of Titles Act s.184
Civil Procedure Rules Order 6 rule 2
Civil Procedure Rules Order 13 rule 1(4)
Civil Procedure Rules Order 13 rule 1(6)
Civil Procedure Rules Order 13 rule 5(1)
Civil Procedure Rules Order 13 rule 5(2)

Cases cited (4)

Musa Misango v Musigire and Others [1966] EA 390
Castelino v Rodrigues [1972] EA 223
Olinda de Souza Figueiredo v Kassamali Nanji [1962] EA 756
Waimiha Saw Milling Co Ltd v Waione Timber Co Ltd [1926] AC 101

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.