Wakilii

Birungi v Commissioner Land Registration (Miscellaneous Cause No. 26 of 2019)

High Court · [2020] UGHC 30 · 2020 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for vesting order under section 167 of the Registration of Titles Act, proceeding exparte
Decision
Vesting order granted directing transfer of title to applicant

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that where a purchaser has paid the full purchase price, taken possession, been acquiesced in by the vendor or representative, and the vendor cannot execute a transfer because he is deceased or cannot be traced, a vesting order may be granted under section 167 of the Registration of Titles Act. Application granted and land ordered transferred to the applicant.

Outcome

Vesting order granted directing transfer of title to applicant

Facts

Birungi purchased land comprised in LRV 2180 Folio 20 Plot 49/53 Persee Street from Tibamanya Johnson for UGX 180 million in July 2014. Tibamanya had acquired the property through a bank sale from Cooperative Bank Limited after the original owner Kyomya John Byemaro defaulted on a mortgage. Tibamanya paid the full purchase price and took possession but died before transferring the property to Birungi. Birungi paid the full purchase price to Tibamanya and took possession in May 2002. Birungi has remained in quiet possession without interruption from Byemaro or Tibamanya's estate. Byemaro, the registered proprietor, cannot be traced and the Cooperative Bank Limited has been liquidated. The respondent Commissioner Land Registration was served but did not appear, and the application proceeded exparte.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant established the requirements for a vesting order under section 167 of the Registration of Titles Act.

Orders

  • Commissioner Land Registration directed to transfer the land comprised in LRV 2180 Folio 20 Plot 49/53 Persee Street from the names of John Kyomya Byemaro into the names of Birungi Fausia.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Registration of Titles — Vesting Orders — Requirements under Section 167
Before a vesting order may be granted under section 167 of the Registration of Titles Act, the following must be proved: (1) there has been a sale of land with title registered under the Act; (2) the whole purchase price has been paid; (3) the purchaser has taken possession; (4) entry into possession has been acquiesced in by the vendor or representative; (5) a transfer has not been executed and cannot be obtained because the vendor is dead, residing outside the jurisdiction, or cannot be found.
Registration of Titles — Vesting Orders — Acquiescence by Vendor
A vesting order can only be made where the purchaser takes possession of the land and the entry has been acquiesced in by the vendor or the vendor's representative.
Registration of Titles — Vesting Orders — Chain of Title from Bank Sale
Where property is acquired through a bank sale following mortgage default, and the subsequent purchaser from the bank sale buyer cannot obtain a transfer due to the death of the seller and inability to trace the original mortgagor, a vesting order may be granted under section 167 of the Registration of Titles Act provided all statutory requirements are satisfied.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (2)

  • Re Ivan Mutaka (1980) HCB 27
  • Yoswa Kityo v Eriya Kaddu (1982) HCB 58

Full judgment

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

Birungi v Commissioner Land Registration (Miscellaneous Cause No. 26 of 2019) [2020] UGHC 30 (13 February 2020)
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.