Wakilii

Burwani and Another v Balikurungi and Another (Civil Application 720 of 2024)

Court of Appeal · [2025] UGCA 92 · 2025 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application before a single Justice of Appeal for stay of execution and, in the alternative, a temporary injunction pending the determination of a second appeal
Decision
Application allowed; execution of the High Court decree stayed and the status quo of the suit land maintained pending determination of Civil Appeal No. 047 of 2020

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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.

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

Sitting as a single Justice of Appeal, the court held that the applicants had satisfied the conditions for a stay of execution: they had lodged a notice and memorandum of appeal raising arguable grounds of law; there was an imminent threat of execution being pursued by administrators of the deceased decree-holder's estate who had not been formally added to the proceedings; and, being in long physical possession of the disputed land, they would suffer substantial, irreparable loss not compensable in money if eviction proceeded before the appeal was heard. The application was allowed, execution stayed and the status quo of the suit land preserved pending determination of the appeal.

Outcome

Application allowed; execution of the High Court decree stayed and the status quo of the suit land maintained pending determination of Civil Appeal No. 047 of 2020

Facts

The late Philip Kizige Balikurungi sued the applicants in the Chief Magistrate's Court of Masindi at Biiso (Civil Suit No. 002 of 2013) over land. The Magistrate's Court dismissed the suit with costs. On appeal, the High Court at Masindi (Civil Appeal No. 050 of 2013) reversed that decision and decreed that the suit land belonged to Balikurungi. The applicants, who are in long physical possession of the land, appealed to the Court of Appeal (Civil Appeal No. 047 of 2020), which is yet to be heard. After Balikurungi died, the respondents, as administrators of his estate, commenced execution of the High Court decree and a notice to show cause was issued, although the respondents had not formally been substituted or added to the proceedings. An earlier application for stay before the High Court had been dismissed. The applicants then sought a stay of execution and temporary injunction from the Court of Appeal.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants satisfied the conditions for the grant of a stay of execution pending the determination of their appeal.
  2. Whether, in the alternative, a temporary injunction should issue to restrain the respondents from interfering with the status quo of the suit land.

Orders

  • An order of stay of execution of the decree in High Court Civil Appeal No. 050 of 2013 until the determination of Civil Appeal No. 047 of 2020 in the Court of Appeal.
  • The status quo of the suit land at Biiso, Buliisa District be maintained until the appeal is heard and determined.
  • Costs shall abide the outcome of the appeal.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution Pending Appeal — Conditions to be Satisfied
An applicant for a stay of execution pending appeal must establish that a notice of appeal has been lodged, that there is a serious or imminent threat of execution which would render the appeal nugatory, that substantial loss may result unless the stay is granted, that the appeal is not frivolous and has a likelihood of success, and that refusal of the stay would inflict greater hardship than it would avoid.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Substantial Loss and Irreparable Harm
Where an applicant is in long physical possession of disputed land and faces eviction while an appeal is pending, the loss of the land cannot be atoned for by monetary compensation and amounts to irreparable damage constituting substantial loss for the purposes of a stay of execution.
Civil Procedure — Execution — Standing of Administrators Not Formally Substituted
Where administrators of a deceased decree-holder's estate seek to execute a decree without having been formally substituted for or added to the proceedings, the attempt jeopardises the opposing party's right of appeal and supports the grant of a stay of execution.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (3)

  • Kalyeboga Annoloonaris v Hussein Muhammed (Civil Application No. 740 of 2023)
  • Kyamboso University v Prof. Isiah Oundo Ndiege (Civil Appeal No. 341 of 2015)
  • Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd v Citibank Uganda Ltd and 2 Others (HCMA No. 1397 of 2022)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Burwani and Another v Balikurungi and Another (Civil Application 720 of 2024) [2025] UGCA 92 (1 January 2025)
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.