Wakilii

Bisamunyu v Bushenyi District Administration (Civil Suit 338 of 1987)

High Court · [1992] UGHC 75 · 1992 Preliminary Objection Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ruling on preliminary objections raised by defendant in a civil suit for land and damages
Decision
Preliminary objections dismissed; matter to proceed to hearing on the merits

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

All preliminary objections dismissed with costs. The court held that whether the plaintiff is the owner of the land can only be decided after evidence is tendered. Parties need only plead material facts upon which their claim is founded, not the law. The defendant's objections concerning conversion of land, adequacy of pleadings on assault and battery, limitation, and vicarious liability were all rejected as matters requiring evidence or adequately pleaded.

Outcome

Preliminary objections dismissed; matter to proceed to hearing on the merits

Facts

George Bisamunyu sued Bushenyi District Administration concerning land. The defendant raised five preliminary objections: that the plaintiff was not the registered proprietor (the certificate named Nathan Bisamunyu); that conversion cannot apply to land; that the plaint inadequately pleaded assault and battery; that claims were time-barred; and that the plaint failed to allege servants acted in the course of employment. The plaintiff responded that identity was an evidentiary matter, that other properties besides land were involved, that continuing trespass prevented time bar, and that vicarious liability was adequately pleaded.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaint discloses a cause of action where the plaintiff's name differs from the registered proprietor named in the certificate of title.
  2. Whether the tort of conversion can apply to land.
  3. Whether the plaint adequately pleads assault and battery.
  4. Whether the claims for conversion, assault and battery are time-barred under the Civil Procedure of Limitation (Misc. Provisions) 1969.
  5. Whether the plaint adequately alleges that the defendant's servants acted in the course of their employment.

Orders

  • All objections raised by Counsel for the defendant are dismissed with costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Identity of Plaintiff — Preliminary Objection
Whether a plaintiff is the registered proprietor of land is a matter that can only be decided after evidence has been tendered in court and cannot be determined at the preliminary objection stage.
Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Material Facts — Requirements
When preparing pleadings, a party need only state material facts upon which the claim is founded and need not plead the law.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Civil Procedure of Limitation (Misc. Provisions) 1969 s.2

Cases cited (2)

  • Pan African Insurance Co. Ltd v Uganda Airlines Cooperation & 2 Others (1985) HCB 55
  • Samuel Kizito Mubiro & Another v G.W. Byensiba & Another (1985) HCB 106

Full judgment

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

Bisamunyu v Bushenyi District Administration (Civil Suit 338 of 1987) [1992] UGHC 75 (18 February 1992)
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.