Wakilii

Alele & 2 Others v Lira District Local Government Council & Another (Miscellaneous Cause 16 of 2018)

High Court · [2023] UGHC 341 · 2023 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application by notice of motion seeking declarations and permanent injunction regarding ownership of land claimed to belong to Uganda Police Force
Decision
Application granted with declarations in favour of Uganda Police Force and permanent injunction issued

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 1 (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 1 time 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

Held that land at Erute adjacent to Akii Bua stadium in Lira belongs to Uganda Police Force. Under Police Amendment Act 2006 section 67C, properties belonging to and used by the Local Administration Police were transferred to Uganda Police Force upon integration. The respondents' attempt to allocate the land to developers was illegal and prejudicial to Uganda Police Force. Permanent injunction issued restraining respondents from alienating or allocating the land to third parties.

Outcome

Application granted with declarations in favour of Uganda Police Force and permanent injunction issued

Facts

On 17 July 2018, the applicants saw a public notice dated 4 July 2018 signed by the Chief Administrative Officer of Lira District Local Government Council notifying the public of availability of plots at Erute adjacent to the new Akii Bua stadium for allocation to developers. The applicants, acting in public interest, inquired about the status of the land from officers at the Regional Police Headquarters, Erute, and were informed that the land belonged to Uganda Police Force. The land had been used by the Local Administration Police before their integration into Uganda Police Force under the Police Amendment Act 2006. The respondents proceeded to attempt allocation of the land without consulting the police. The applicants brought this application seeking declarations that the land belongs to Uganda Police Force and a permanent injunction restraining the respondents from alienating the land.

Issues

  1. Whether the suit land belongs to the 1st Respondent or Uganda Police Force by operation of the law and the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995

Orders

  • The land at Erute adjacent to the new Akii Bua stadium located in Lira Central Division, Lira Municipality, Lira District belongs to the Uganda Police Force.
  • Any sale or alienation of the said land is illegal and prejudicial to the Uganda Police Force.
  • Permanent injunction issued restraining the respondent from alienating and/or allocating the said land to third parties or potential developers.
  • Declaration that the said land comprised of residential premises, land comprised of staff quarters at Ireda Housing Estates, and land comprised of administrative units and residential premises at Ojwina Division (formerly Lira Sub-county Administrative Units) in Lira all belongs to the Uganda Police Force.
  • Costs awarded to the Applicants.

Rules and key headnotes

Transfer of Property — Integration of Local Administration Police into Uganda Police Force
Upon integration of the Local Administration Police into the Uganda Police Force under section 67A of the Police Amendment Act 2006, all properties belonging to and used by the Local Administration Police are transferred to the Uganda Police Force by operation of section 67C of the Act.
Public Property — Ownership by State Institutions
Land that was used by the Local Administration Police as tools of work, including residential premises, staff quarters, and administrative units, falls within the ambit of properties transferred to Uganda Police Force upon integration and cannot be alienated by local government authorities.
Right to Property — Protection of Institutional Property Rights
Local government authorities breach the constitutional right to property guaranteed under Article 26 of the Constitution when they interfere with or attempt to alienate property that belongs to the Uganda Police Force by operation of law.
Local Government Powers — Limits on Alienation of Public Property
A District Land Board and Local Government Council act outside their constitutional parameters when they attempt to allocate or alienate land that belongs to a national institution such as the Uganda Police Force without consultation with the institution.

Legislation cited (16)

Cases citing this judgment (1)

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.

Alele & 2 Others v Lira District Local Government Council & Another (Miscellaneous Cause 16 of 2018) [2023] UGHC 341 (21 February 2023)
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.