Wakilii

Byaruhanga Samuel v Gumisiriza Joseph (Civil Appeal 44 of 2019)

High Court · [2023] UGHCCD 378 · 2023 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from Chief Magistrate's Court dismissal of suit for trespass, nuisance, and conversion
Decision
Appeal dismissed with costs to the Respondent

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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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 a son entering family land where his mother resides does not commit trespass as he has an interest as a family member. The court found that the disputed house was built by the respondent's mother, not the respondent, and that the appellant authorised use of building materials. The appellant failed to prove trespass, nuisance, or conversion. Appeal dismissed with costs to the respondent.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed with costs to the Respondent

Facts

The appellant father sued his son (respondent) in the Chief Magistrate's Court claiming the respondent trespassed on family land by building a three-roomed house without permission using the appellant's bricks and sand, and that the respondent's tenants created a nuisance. The respondent denied building the house, stating his mother (the appellant's wife) built it. The trial court dismissed the suit, finding the mother built the house. The appellant appealed to the High Court. Evidence showed the respondent had lived on the family land since 1997, the mother testified she built the house with a loan from her business income, and the appellant had authorised use of the building materials.

Issues

  1. Whether the Respondent trespassed on the suit land.
  2. Whether the Respondent committed the tort of nuisance on the suit land.
  3. Whether the Respondent committed the tort of conversion of the Appellant's building materials.
  4. What remedies are available to the parties.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the Respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Trespass to Land — Family Member Entry — Interest in Family Land
A son entering land where his family resides and where his mother lives does not commit trespass because he has an interest in the land as a family member.
Trespass to Land — Elements of Proof
To prove trespass to land, a plaintiff must establish that the disputed land belongs to him, that the defendant entered upon that land, and that the entry was unlawful in that it was made without permission or the defendant had no claim, right, or interest in the land.
Nuisance — Failure to Adduce Evidence
Where a plaintiff pleads nuisance but adduces no evidence to support the allegation, the claim for nuisance fails.
Appeals — First Appellate Court Duty — Re-evaluation of Evidence
The duty of a first appellate court is to reconsider all material evidence that was before the trial court and, while making allowance for the fact that it has neither seen nor heard the witnesses, to come to its own conclusion on the evidence, considering the evidence on any issue in its totality and not any piece thereof in isolation.

Cases cited (5)

  • Rwabugande Moses v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 25 of 2014)
  • Baguma Fred v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 7 of 2004)
  • Justine E.M.N Lutaya v Sterling Civil Engineering Company Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 11 of 2002)
  • Sheik Muhammed Lubowa v Kitara Enterprises Ltd (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 4 of 1988)
  • Hunter v Canary Wharf [1998] 1 WLR 434

Full judgment

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

Byaruhanga Samuel v Gumisiriza Joseph (Civil Appeal 44 of 2019) [2023] UGHCCD 378 (30 June 2023)
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.