Wakilii

Bamweyaka and Others v Kampala District Land Board and Another (Civil Appeal No. 20 of 2002)

Court of Appeal · [2002] UGCA 19 · 2002 Appeal Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from a High Court judgment dismissing a suit concerning ownership and occupancy of land
Decision
Appeal allowed; appellants declared customary tenants and the second respondent's fraudulently obtained lease cancelled

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that the appellants were customary tenants of the suit land, which had never been registered in the name of any person or authority. Sections 30 and 60 of the Land Act, concerning lawful and bona fide occupants and District Land Board allocations, do not apply to customary land tenure. The trial judge erred in holding that a bona fide occupant excludes a purchaser, since section 30(5) expressly includes purchasers. Kampala District Land Board had no authority to allocate customary-owned land, and the second respondent obtained his lease and title fraudulently. The lease was cancelled and judgment entered for the appellants.

Outcome

Appeal allowed; appellants declared customary tenants and the second respondent's fraudulently obtained lease cancelled

Facts

The appellants occupied a plot of land at Ndeeba in Kampala, described as Plot 1028 Block 7 Kibuga. Some had occupied the land unchallenged for over forty years and others purchased plots from earlier occupants, evidenced by sale agreements. The appellants paid property rates to Kampala City Council, the former controlling authority, which recognised them as owners. On 8 November 2000, the first respondent, Kampala District Land Board, allocated the suit land to the second respondent for a lease. The second respondent was registered as proprietor on 20 November 2000 and obtained a certificate of title. The appellants sued, claiming to be bona fide/lawful occupants and customary owners and alleging the allocation and registration were wrongful, unlawful, and fraudulent. The land had never been registered in the name of any person or authority before the second respondent's registration. The trial judge dismissed the suit, finding the appellants were neither lawful nor bona fide occupants nor customary owners.

Issues

  1. Whether the appellants were lawful or bona fide occupants of the suit land.
  2. Whether the appellants were customary owners of the suit land.
  3. Whether the suit land was available for leasing to the second respondent at the time of the grant of the lease.
  4. Whether the second defendant obtained the certificate of title lawfully.
  5. Whether a bona fide occupant under section 30 of the Land Act includes a purchaser.

Orders

  • Judgment and decree of the High Court is set aside.
  • Judgment substituted for the appellants declaring them customary tenants of the suit land.
  • The 2nd respondent obtained his lease fraudulently and the same be cancelled.
  • The respondents pay the appellants' costs here and in the High Court.

Rules and key headnotes

Land Law — Customary Tenure — Establishment by Long Unchallenged Occupation and Development
Occupation and development of land without any lease or licence from the former controlling authority, remaining unchallenged for many years, establishes a customary right of tenancy over the land within sections 2 and 4 of the Land Act.
Land Law — Lawful and Bona Fide Occupants — Requirement of Land Registered in Another's Name
A person cannot claim to be a lawful or bona fide occupant under section 30 of the Land Act unless the occupied land was registered in the name of another person or authority; section 30 has no application where the land was unregistered.
Land Law — Bona Fide Occupant — Inclusion of Purchaser under Section 30(5)
Under section 30(5) of the Land Act, any person who has purchased or otherwise acquired the interest of a person qualified to be a bona fide occupant is taken to be a bona fide occupant; a purchaser is therefore included within the meaning of bona fide occupant.
Land Law — District Land Board — No Authority to Allocate Land Owned or Occupied by Another
Under section 60(1)(a) of the Land Act a District Land Board may only allocate land which is not owned by any person or authority; allocating customary-owned land without regard to the customary tenant's interest is unlawful.
Land Law — Allocation Procedure — Fraudulent Misrepresentation of Recommendation
Obtaining a recommendation to lease land from a Local Council whose jurisdiction does not cover the suit land, so as to deceive the Land Board that the land is available for lease, constitutes fraud rendering the resulting lease and title liable to cancellation.
Civil Procedure — Withdrawal of Appeal — Notice of Change of Advocate Required
A purported withdrawal of an appeal under rule 93 by advocates who have not filed a notice of change of advocate, while the record shows existing counsel still representing the party, will be disregarded where the authenticity of the instruction is doubtful.

Legislation cited (14)

Cases cited (5)

  • Matovu and 2 Others v Sseviri and Another (Civil Appeal No. 7 of 1978)
  • Jacob Lomolo vs Kilembe Mines Ltd. (1978) HCB 157
  • Gousper-Essex vs Action L.B. (1889) 14 Aoo. Case 153, 169
  • Attorney General vs Selem (1864) 2 H & C 431
  • RE. SNEEZUM (1876) 3 Ch.D 463

Full judgment

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

Bamweyaka and Others v Kampala District Land Board and Another (Civil Appeal No. 20 of 2002) [2002] UGCA 19 (6 August 2002)
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.