Wakilii

Bunzingiye Nikuze Therese v Abdallah Hassan (Civil Suit 99 of 2003)

High Court · [2008] UGCOMMC 89 · 2008 Judgment for Defendant (Damages Awarded to Plaintiff) AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for specific performance of contract of sale, general damages, mesne profits, and interest
Decision
Plaintiff's claims for specific performance, rent, and mesne profits dismissed; general damages awarded for breach; defendant to receive title to house upon mutual delivery of transfer forms

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 1 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 1 time with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

Held that while the defendant breached the contract by failing to pay the purchase price within the agreed timeframe, the plaintiff condoned the breach by accepting late payment and could not claim mesne profits without rescinding the contract. The plaintiff was awarded general damages of Shs. 10,000,000 for loss of use of funds during the delay period. Claims for specific performance, rent, and mesne profits were dismissed. Both parties were ordered to deliver duly executed transfer forms for the house and vehicles respectively.

Outcome

Plaintiff's claims for specific performance, rent, and mesne profits dismissed; general damages awarded for breach; defendant to receive title to house upon mutual delivery of transfer forms

Facts

The plaintiff, a Rwandese businesswoman, sold her house at Plot No. 1891, Muyenga, Kampala to the defendant for US$115,000 under a written agreement dated 20 September 2001. Payment was partly in kind (a Mercedes Benz truck and trailer valued at US$40,000) and partly in cash. The defendant failed to pay the balance of US$42,000 within the agreed three-month period. The defendant was evicted from the premises on 2 November 2002 and re-entered on 17 February 2003 after paying the full purchase price. The plaintiff alleged the defendant failed to deliver log books and signed transfer forms for the vehicles. The plaintiff claimed rent, mesne profits, interest, and general damages for breach of contract.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to rent as alleged
  2. Whether the defendant breached the contract
  3. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to the relief sought in the amended plaint
  4. Whether the defendant is entitled to the relief in the counter claim

Orders

  • General damages of Shs. 10,000,000 awarded to the plaintiff with interest at court rate from date of judgment till payment in full.
  • Plaintiff awarded one quarter of her costs; defendant awarded three quarters of his costs.
  • Defendant's counter claim dismissed with costs.
  • Certificate of title (Block 244, Plot No. 1891, Muyenga) to be released to the defendant by the Registrar.
  • Plaintiff to deliver to the defendant duly executed transfer forms for the house.
  • Defendant to deliver to the plaintiff duly signed transfer forms for the vehicles.
  • Mutual delivery of transfer forms to be completed within 30 days from date of judgment.

Rules and key headnotes

Contract Law — Breach of Contract — Condonation of Breach — Effect on Right to Rescind
Where a party to a contract breaches the agreement but the other party accepts late performance and does not exercise an express contractual right to rescind, the innocent party condones the breach and cannot subsequently claim remedies predicated on rescission of the contract.
Land & Property — Mesne Profits — Prerequisites for Recovery — Landlord-Tenant Relationship or Trespass Required
A claim for mesne profits requires establishment of either a landlord-tenant relationship or trespass. A party who accepts late payment of the purchase price under a contract of sale and does not rescind the contract cannot claim mesne profits against the purchaser in occupation, as the party cannot assert a right to possession.
Contract Law — Specific Performance — Refusal Where Contract Substantially Performed
An order for specific performance will not issue where the defendant has substantially performed the obligations under the contract by the time the suit is instituted.
Contract Law — Damages for Breach — Assessment of General Damages for Delay in Payment
Where a purchaser delays payment of the contract price for a substantial period, the seller is entitled to general damages representing the loss of use of the funds during the period of delay. A return of 15% per annum on the delayed sum may be awarded as a reasonable measure of such loss.
Contract Law — Implied Terms — Delivery of Log Books and Transfer Forms
In a contract for the sale of property that includes motor vehicles, where the written agreement is silent on the question of delivery of log books and transfer forms, it is an implied term that the seller must at some point deliver the log books and duly signed transfer forms for the vehicles.

Cases citing this judgment (1)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

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

Bunzingiye Nikuze Therese v Abdallah Hassan (Civil Suit 99 of 2003) [2008] UGCommC 89 (17 June 2008)
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.