Wakilii

Bexus International Limited v Kikonyogo Investments Limited and Anor (H.C.Miscellaneous Application No. 500 of 2020)

High Court · [2021] UGHCLD 42 · 2021 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to amend pleadings and add a party, arising from Civil Suit No. 043 of 2017
Decision
Application granted; applicant permitted to amend pleadings and add party

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court allowed the application to amend the plaint to add the Departed Asians Property Custodian Board as a defendant. The amendment did not introduce a new cause of action but rather sought to challenge the cancellation of the applicant's temporary allocation, which was necessary for complete adjudication of all matters in controversy between the parties.

Outcome

Application granted; applicant permitted to amend pleadings and add party

Facts

Bexus International Limited filed Civil Suit No. 043 of 2017 against Kikonyogo Investments Limited and others seeking declarations of ownership over land at Kajjansi comprised in Block 270 Plot 2 Volume 135 Folio 17 in Wakiso District. The applicant's claim was based on a temporary allocation issued by the Departed Asians Property Custodian Board (DAPB) on 16 July 2014. In March 2017, the DAPB cancelled the allocation. The applicant learned of the cancellation in 2018 and filed for judicial review, which was dismissed with advice to pursue the matter in the main suit. The applicant then sought leave to amend the plaint to add the DAPB as a defendant. The respondents objected, arguing the amendment was omnibus, introduced a new cause of action, and was made in bad faith three years after filing.

Issues

  1. Whether the amendment to the Plaint to add the Departed Asians Property Custodian Board should be allowed.

Orders

  • The Applicant is allowed to amend the Plaint and add the Departed Asians Property Custodian Board as a Defendant to Civil Suit No. 43 of 2017.
  • Costs shall be in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Amendment of Pleadings — Joinder of Parties — Test for Necessity
For a person to be joined as a party on the ground that their presence is necessary for effectual and complete settlement of all questions involved in the suit, it must be shown either that the orders sought would legally affect that person's interests, or that joinder is desirable to avoid multiplicity of suits so that the person is bound by the court's decision.
Amendment of Pleadings — Test for New Cause of Action
The test for whether a proposed amendment should be allowed is whether it introduces a distinct new cause of action instead of the original, or whether and in what way it would prejudice the rights of the respondent if allowed.
Amendment of Pleadings — Purpose and Scope
The purpose of amendment of pleadings is to enable parties to alter their pleadings so that litigation is conducted not on a false hypothesis of facts already pleaded or relief already claimed, but on the basis of the true state of facts or the true relief which the parties really and finally intend to rely on or claim.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (2)

  • Departed Asians Property Custodian Board v Jaffer Brothers Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 9 of 1998)
  • Muloowoza & Brothers v N. Shah Ltd (SCCA No. 26 of 2010)

Full judgment

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

Bexus_International_Limited_v_Kikonyogo_Investments_Limited_and_Anor_(H.C.Miscellaneous_Application_No._500_of_2020)_[2021]_UGHCLD_42_(4_February_2021)
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.