Wakilii

Abbas Ndamwe and Others v Selina Mutonyi and Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 216 of 2024)

High Court · [2026] UGHC 46 · 2026 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for stay of execution pending appeal to the Court of Appeal from High Court Civil Appeal No. 77 of 2020
Decision
Stay of execution granted subject to payment of security for costs

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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.

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 granted the application for stay of execution pending appeal to the Court of Appeal. The court held that the applicants satisfied the conditions for stay: they filed a timely notice of appeal, faced imminent threat of execution, would suffer substantial loss if stay was not granted, applied without unreasonable delay, and were ready to provide security for costs. The stay was granted subject to payment of UGX 3,541,000 as security for costs.

Outcome

Stay of execution granted subject to payment of security for costs

Facts

The applicants instituted Land Suit No. 040 of 2014 in the Chief Magistrate Court at Sironko seeking a declaration of ownership over half of plot No. 19 Block B. The suit was dismissed with costs. The applicants appealed to the High Court under Civil Appeal No. 77 of 2020. The High Court upheld the lower court's findings save for declaring that the applicants were not trespassers since they were family members of the deceased. The applicants filed a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal on 18 March 2024. The respondents filed an application for execution of the decree. The respondents' bill of costs was taxed at UGX 3,541,000. On 10 September 2024, the applicants received notice of the execution application. The applicants then filed this application for stay of execution on 26 September 2024.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant has established sufficient grounds to warrant grant of a stay of execution
  2. What remedies are available to the parties

Orders

  • Application for stay of execution granted.
  • Stay of execution of the decree in High Court Civil Appeal No. 77 of 2020 granted pending determination of the appeal to the Court of Appeal.
  • Stay granted subject to payment of UGX 3,541,000 as security for costs.
  • Costs awarded to the Respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Conditions for Grant
An applicant for stay of execution pending appeal must satisfy the following conditions: (a) that a notice of appeal has been lodged; (b) that there is serious or imminent threat of execution and if the application is not granted the appeal would be rendered nugatory; (c) that substantial loss may result to the applicant unless the stay is granted; (d) that the application has been made without unreasonable delay; (e) that the appeal has a high likelihood of success; and (f) that security has been given by the applicant for due performance of the decree as may ultimately be binding upon him or her.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Notice of Appeal as Sufficient Expression of Intention
A notice of appeal is sufficient expression of an intention to file an appeal and such an action is sufficient to found the basis for grant of orders of stay in appropriate cases.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Purpose and Balancing of Rights
The discretionary relief of stay of execution pending appeal is designed so that no one would be worse off by virtue of an order of the court. The court in balancing the competing rights of the appellant to his appeal (including the prospects that the appeal will not be rendered nugatory) and the decree holder to the decree (including full benefits under the decree) focuses on their reconciliation.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (7)

  • Ssekikubo and Others v Attorney General and Others (Constitutional Application No. 03 of 2014)
  • Kasule v Greenland Bank in Receivership (Supreme Court Civil Application No. 07 of 2010)
  • Kyazze v Busingye (Supreme Court Civil Application No. 18 of 1990)
  • Attorney General v East African Law Society and Another (EACA Application No. 01 of 2013)
  • Equity Bank Uganda Ltd v Were (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 604 of 2013)
  • Orute Aloysius and 4 Others v Alupo Esther (Civil Application No. 960 of 2023)
  • Absalom Dova, Vs. Tarbo Transporters [2013] eKLR

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Abbas Ndamwe and Others v Selina Mutonyi and Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 216 of 2024) [2026] UGHC 46 (29 January 2026)
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.