Wakilii

Bartley Davenport (Suing Through Robert Kayanja) v Sselumaga (Civil Suit 322 of 2021)

High Court · [2023] UGHCFD 180 · 2023 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit arising from Administration Cause No. 440 of 2021, proceeding ex parte after defendant failed to appear despite service
Decision
Judgment entered for the plaintiff with revocation of fraudulent Letters of Administration, grant of Letters of Probate to plaintiff as executor, cancellation of fraudulent land subdivisions (except two plots already transferred to third parties), permanent injunction against defendant, and award of general damages

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that the defendant fraudulently obtained Letters of Administration by presenting a false death certificate with incorrect details regarding the deceased's date of death, place of death, and residence. The deceased died testate in the USA on 13 January 2013, not intestate in Uganda on 13 May 2013 as the defendant claimed. The court revoked the Letters of Administration and granted Letters of Probate to the plaintiff as the executor named in the deceased's Will. The court cancelled the special certificates of title for subdivided plots obtained through the fraudulent grant, except for plots already transferred to third parties not joined to the suit.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the plaintiff with revocation of fraudulent Letters of Administration, grant of Letters of Probate to plaintiff as executor, cancellation of fraudulent land subdivisions (except two plots already transferred to third parties), permanent injunction against defendant, and award of general damages

Facts

The Late Joseph Balikuddembe Mukasa died testate in Texas, USA on 13 January 2013, having made a Will dated 26 December 2012 appointing William Bartley Davenport as executor. The deceased owned land comprised in Block 337 Plots 328 and 458 at Mugongo, Wakiso District, where he operated an NGO caring for orphans and underprivileged children. The defendant, the deceased's brother, obtained a death certificate from NIRA falsely stating that the deceased died in Uganda on 13 May 2013 of natural causes at age 77. Using this false death certificate, the defendant obtained a Certificate of No Objection from the Administrator General and was granted Letters of Administration on 19 May 2021 under Administration Cause No. 440 of 2021, claiming the deceased died intestate. The defendant then had himself registered on the land titles, subdivided the properties creating Plots 1388, 1389, and 1390 from Plot 328 and Plots 459 and 460 from Plot 458, and transferred Plots 1388 and 1389 to third parties. The defendant also exhumed the remains of the deceased's mother from the property, graded the land, and destroyed property including a wall fence and fruit trees.

Issues

  1. Whether the defendant fraudulently obtained Letters of Administration for the estate of the Late Joseph Balikuddembe Mukasa?
  2. Whether there are grounds for revocation of Letters of Administration vide Administration Cause No. 440 of 2021?
  3. Whether there are grounds for grant of probate of a Will for the estate of the Late Joseph Balikuddembe Mukasa to his executor William Bartley Davenport?
  4. Whether the defendant was fraudulently/illegally registered on the Certificate of Title for land comprised of Block 337 Plot 328 which was subdivided into Plots 1388, 1389, 1390, and Plot 458 which was subdivided into Plots 459 and 460 land at Mugongo?
  5. Whether there are grounds for cancellation of the certificates of title which are subdivisions arising from Block 337 Plot 328 and Plot 458?
  6. What are the remedies available to the parties?

Orders

  • Letters of Administration issued vide Administration Cause No. 440 of 2021 revoked for having been acquired fraudulently.
  • Letters of Probate granted to William Bartley Davenport as Executor of the Estate of the Late Joseph Balikuddembe Mukasa.
  • The Commissioner Land Registration directed to cancel the Special Certificates of title for Block 337 Plot 1390 and Block 337 Plot 458 (subdivided into Plots 459 and 460) and all entries made thereon.
  • The Commissioner Land Registration ordered to cancel all subdivisions arising from Block 337 Plot 328 and Block 337 Plot 458 other than Plots 1388 and 1389.
  • The Commissioner Land Registration ordered to cancel the registration of Sselumaga John Baptist under Administration Cause No. 440 of 2021 from the specified lands other than Plots 1388 and 1389.
  • Order substituting Sselumaga John Baptist with William Bartley Davenport as executor on the certificates of title for the specified plots other than Plots 1388 and 1389.
  • Permanent injunction restraining the defendant from further dealing with the estate of the Late Joseph Balikuddembe Mukasa.
  • Citation against the defendant directing him to surrender the Letters of Administration within five days.
  • Order directing the defendant to make a just and true inventory of all properties within seven days.
  • Declaration that the defendant is in breach of the Administration bond.
  • General damages of UGX 250,000,000 awarded to the plaintiff.
  • Costs awarded to the plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Revocation of Letters of Administration — Fraud — False Death Certificate
Letters of Administration obtained by presenting a false death certificate with incorrect details of date of death, place of death, and residence of the deceased constitute fraud and provide just cause for revocation under Section 234 of the Succession Act where the grant was obtained by making false suggestions or concealing material facts from the court.
Probate — Testate Succession — Appointment of Executor
Where the deceased left a valid Will appointing an executor and there is no contrary Will presented, the court will grant Letters of Probate to the named executor under Sections 182 and 184 of the Succession Act.
Fraud — Standard of Proof — Heavier Burden
Fraud must be strictly proved with a burden heavier than the balance of probabilities generally applied in civil matters, and the fraud must be attributed directly to the transferee or by necessary implication such that the transferee was guilty of a fraudulent act or knew of such act by another and took advantage of it.
Fraud — Definition — Intentional Perversion of Truth
Fraud is an intentional perversion of truth for the purpose of inducing another in reliance upon it to part with something valuable or to surrender a legal right; it involves false representation of a matter of fact by words or conduct, or by concealment of material facts, that deceives and is intended to deceive another to his legal injury.
Registration of Titles — Cancellation — Fraud by Administrator
Where an administrator fraudulently obtained Letters of Administration and used the fraudulent grant to register himself on land titles and create subdivisions, the court may order cancellation of the special certificates of title and subdivisions obtained through the fraudulent authority.
Fair Hearing — Third Party Rights — Audi Alteram Partem
A court cannot make orders cancelling certificates of title and disentitling registered proprietors who are third parties not joined to the suit, as to do so would condemn such parties without a fair hearing contrary to Article 28(1) of the Constitution, which is a non-derogable right under Article 44(c).
Damages — Estate Property — Destruction and Exhumation
General damages may be awarded against a person who fraudulently obtained Letters of Administration and subsequently damaged estate property, including exhuming and removing human remains, destroying crops and fruit trees, grading land, and causing trauma to beneficiaries residing on the property.

Legislation cited (11)

Cases cited (5)

  • Kampala Bottles Ltd v Damanico (U) Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 22 of 1992)
  • [1956] 1 QB 702
  • F.K. Zaabwe v Orient Bank & Others (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 4 of 2006)
  • Caroline Turyatemba & 4 Others v The Attorney General & Another (Constitutional Petition No. 15 of 2006)
  • Collins v Blantern (1767) 1 Smith's LC 13th Ed.

Full judgment

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

Bartley Davenport (Suing Through Robert Kayanja) v Sselumaga (Civil Suit 322 of 2021) [2023] UGHCFD 180 (12 September 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.