Wakilii

A.K.T Project Management Ltd and Others v DFCU Bank Ltd and Nationwide Property Services Ltd (Civil Suit 397 of 2020)

High Court · [2025] UGCOMMC 115 · 2025 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ruling on preliminary objections in a civil suit challenging the lawfulness of a mortgage and sale of mortgaged property
Decision
Suit dismissed on preliminary objections for lack of legal capacity and locus standi

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 3 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 3 times with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

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 High Court dismissed the suit on preliminary objections. The 1st Plaintiff, a company struck off the register on 14 August 2023 for failure to file annual returns, lacked legal capacity to maintain the suit or file the application for reinstatement in November 2023. The 2nd Plaintiff, as Administratrix of an estate, could not delegate her powers to sue through a power of attorney. The 3rd Plaintiff, a beneficiary, had no locus standi to sue where an Administratrix was officially appointed.

Outcome

Suit dismissed on preliminary objections for lack of legal capacity and locus standi

Facts

The Plaintiffs sued to challenge the lawfulness of a mortgage between the 1st Plaintiff and 1st Defendant and the sale of mortgaged property to the 2nd Defendant. The 1st Plaintiff was a company; the 2nd Plaintiff was the Administratrix of an estate suing through a power of attorney; the 3rd Plaintiff was a beneficiary of the estate. On 14 August 2023, the 1st Plaintiff was struck off the company register for failure to file annual returns. The suit was dismissed for non-appearance on 27 October 2023 and reinstated on 19 January 2024 via Miscellaneous Application No. 2853 of 2023 filed on 24 November 2023. The 1st Plaintiff was restored to the register on 12 May 2025. The Defendants raised preliminary objections challenging the capacity and locus standi of all three Plaintiffs.

Issues

  1. Whether the 1st Plaintiff has the capacity to prosecute and maintain the current suit?
  2. Whether the 2nd Plaintiff suing through her lawful Attorney has locus standi to bring the current suit?
  3. Whether the 3rd Plaintiff has a cause of action in the current suit?

Orders

  • High Court Civil Suit No. 397 of 2020 is dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the Defendants.

Rules and key headnotes

Company Law — Struck-Off Companies — Legal Capacity to Sue
A company struck off the register for failure to file annual returns ceases to have legal existence and lacks capacity to sue, be sued, or maintain legal proceedings during the period it remains off the register.
Company Law — Struck-Off Companies — Actions Taken While Off Register
Any legal action taken by a struck-off company during the period it is off the register, including filing applications for reinstatement of suits, constitutes an illegality and is void.
Succession & Estates — Powers of Administrators — Delegation of Authority
An administrator or executor of an estate cannot delegate the power to sue or prosecute actions on behalf of the estate through a power of attorney; such representation is personal to the administrator and cannot be delegated.
Succession & Estates — Beneficiaries — Locus Standi to Sue
Where an administrator has been officially appointed by the court, a beneficiary of an estate has no locus standi to institute proceedings concerning estate property; only the administrator has authority to initiate such proceedings.
Civil Procedure — Preliminary Objections — Locus Standi
Locus standi means the right to bring an action or be heard in a given forum; a party lacking locus standi at the time of filing or during the prosecution of a suit cannot maintain the action.
Civil Procedure — Illegality — Court's Duty
Once an illegality is brought to the attention of the court, the court cannot sanction it and must address it regardless of the stage of proceedings.

Legislation cited (16)

Cases cited (21)

  • Mukisa Biscuit Manufacturing Co. Ltd v West End Distributors Ltd [1969] EA 696
  • The Fort Hall Bakery Supply Co. v Frederick Muigai Wangoe [1959] EA 474
  • Kenya Power & Lighting Company Limited v Benzene Holdings Limited T/a WYCO Paints [2016] eKLR
  • Auto Garage & Others v Motokov [1971] EA 514
  • Ivan Samuel Ssebadduka v Chairman Electoral Commission and 3 Others (Presidential Election Petition No. 1 of 2020)
  • Attorney General & Another v James Mark Kamoga & Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 8 of 2004)
  • Male H. Mabirizi K. Kiwanuka v Registrar General & Another (Miscellaneous Cause No. 38 of 2023)
  • Kasaala Growers Co-operative Society v Kakooza Jonathan & Another (Supreme Court Civil Application No. 19 of 2010)
  • Dima Domnic Poro v Inyani Godfrey & Another (High Court Civil Appeal No. 17 of 2016)
  • M/s Schenker N.V v Uganda Revenue Authority & Another (Miscellaneous Cause No. 94 of 2023)
  • Makula International Limited v His Eminence Cardinal Nsubuga & Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 4 of 1981)
  • Juliet Bbosa Namitala v Louis Bakyenga & 3 Others (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 1535 of 2021)
  • Nakabuye Agnes v Martin Strokes & Another (Miscellaneous Cause No. 38 of 2021)
  • Re: Estate of Krishan Murti Maini (Deceased) [2011] eKLR
  • Rose N. Namukasa v Namayanja Mayanja Margret & 4 Others (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 890 of 2024)
  • Kampala Financial Services v Commissioner for Land Registration (Miscellaneous Cause No. 149 of 2020)
  • Israel Kabwa v Martin Banoba Musiga (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 52 of 1995)
  • Hajat Nambi Lugwisa v Sheik Hussein Ssengendo (Civil Appeal No. 4 of 2021)
  • Aidah Tumushemereirwe Bajuna and Another v Yosamu Rubyakana and Others (High Court Civil Suit No. 67 of 2019)
  • Mulindwa George William v Kisubika Joseph (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 12 of 2014)
  • Prince Kalemera H. Kimera and Another v The Kabaka of Buganda & 3 Others (Civil Suit No. 535 of 2017)

Cases citing this judgment (3)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

A.K.T Project Management Ltd and Others v DFCU Bank Ltd and Nationwide Property Services Ltd (Civil Suit 397 of 2020) [2025] UGCommC 115 (30 May 2025)
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.