Wakilii

Byamukama & anoer v Rwomiju (Civil Suit No. 514 of 2001)

High Court · [2001] UGHC 93 · 2001 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Originating summons for specific performance of contract and registration of title
Decision
Second plaintiff granted registration of title with transfer instruments signed by first plaintiff only as executor

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Where one of two co-executors has administered an estate single-handedly for years while the other has been absent and uninvolved, section 274 of the Succession Act permits the active executor to exercise all powers including sale of estate property. The contract binds both executors. A purchaser who conducts a proper search, pays consideration, and takes possession is an innocent purchaser for value entitled to specific performance. Where the inactive executor is uncooperative, the court may order the Registrar of Titles to register the purchaser without that executor's signature.

Outcome

Second plaintiff granted registration of title with transfer instruments signed by first plaintiff only as executor

Facts

The suit property formed part of the estate of Ambrose Rwomwiju who died testate in the early 1990s. Probate was granted in 1993 to the first plaintiff and the defendant as co-executors. The first plaintiff administered the estate alone for years while the defendant, residing in America, took no part in administration. In 2000, the property was subject to a mortgage held by International Credit Bank in liquidation with UGX 27,928,898 due. On 15 February 2000, the first plaintiff sold the property to the second plaintiff for UGX 167,500,000. The second plaintiff paid consideration, took possession, and conducted extensive renovations. The property was registered in the names of both executors. The defendant refused to sign transfer instruments. The plaintiffs brought an originating summons seeking an order compelling the defendant to sign or alternatively directing the Registrar to register the second plaintiff.

Issues

  1. Whether the defendant could validly prevent the second plaintiff from acquiring title to the suit property.
  2. Whether the originating summons was the appropriate procedure.
  3. Whether the second plaintiff was an innocent purchaser for value entitled to specific performance.
  4. Whether under section 274 of the Succession Act, the first plaintiff as co-executor could validly sell estate property without the signature of the other executor.

Orders

  • The Registrar of Titles (Commissioner for Land Registration) is ordered to register on the Register of Titles the name of the second plaintiff, Christopher David Wilson, as proprietor of LRV696 Folio 20, Kyaddondo Block 250, plot 31 at Bbunga Hill, Kampala, with transfer instruments signed only by the first plaintiff as executor.
  • Each party shall meet its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Co-executors — Exercise of powers by one executor — Effect on estate transactions
Under section 274 of the Succession Act, where there are several executors, the powers of all may, in the absence of any direction to the contrary, be exercised by any of them who has proved the will or taken out administration.
Co-executors — Liability for acts of co-executor — Passive executor
Where a co-executor has unnecessarily left all duties of execution of an estate into the sole hands of another executor for years, that passive executor cannot escape liability for any act done by the active co-executor.
Specific performance — Estate property — Contract by one of two co-executors
A contract made by one executor under section 274 of the Succession Act binds both executors. The court may grant specific performance of such a contract.
Innocent purchaser for value — Factors — Diligence
A purchaser who engages a reputable firm of advocates, conducts a search, accepts assurances of good title, pays appropriate consideration, and takes possession is an innocent purchaser for value entitled to protection.
Originating summons — Appropriateness — Simple questions of law
The procedure by originating summons is appropriate for the summary determination of simple and clear-cut questions of law or construction, not for matters involving serious contested questions requiring full trial.
Registration of title — Court order in lieu of uncooperative vendor
Where there is unchallenged evidence that a vendor has been uncooperative and a high possibility exists that the vendor could delay or frustrate execution of transfer instruments, the court may order the Registrar of Titles to register the purchaser directly.

Legislation cited (1)

Cases cited (4)

  • Samwiri Massa & Rose Achen (1978) HCB 297
  • Kulsumbai Gulamhusein Jaffe & Ramil v Abdul Hussein Mohamed Rahim [1957] EA 699
  • In re Giles [1890] 43 Ch D 391
  • In re Gascoigne, Gascoigne v Gascoigne (1894) 1 Ch D 470

Full judgment

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Byamukama & anoer v Rwomiju (Civil Suit No. 514 of 2001) [2001] UGHC 93 (5 November 2001)
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.