Wakilii

Captain Muhammed Omari v Attorney General (Civil Suit No.607 of 1995)

High Court · [1996] UGHC 11 · 1996 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for breach of contract, misrepresentation, and recovery of damages
Decision
Judgment entered for the plaintiff with substantial damages and mesne profits awarded

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held that a valid contract existed between the plaintiff and the government for purchase of expropriated property after the plaintiff paid the token fee and received a certificate of purchase. The government misrepresented that it had good title to sell when the property had already been re-entered by the original lessor on court order. The plaintiff was entitled to damages representing the unencumbered market value of the property, general damages for breach and misrepresentation, mesne profits, and refund of the purchase price paid.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the plaintiff with substantial damages and mesne profits awarded

Facts

In 1977, the plaintiff purchased property from the Departed Asians Property Custodian Board and was registered as proprietor. The Expropriated Properties Act 1982 nullified all such sales but allowed claimants to lodge claims with the verification committee. In 1992, after the plaintiff's claim was approved, he paid UGX 50,000 as directed and received a certificate of purchase. The government instructed the Registrar of Titles to register the plaintiff as purchaser and advised government occupants to negotiate new tenancy with the plaintiff. However, the original lessor Francis Lubwa Luyimbazi had obtained a court order for re-entry against the Custodian Board for non-payment of rent, and the property was registered in Luyimbazi's name. The government failed to deliver vacant possession despite the plaintiff's demands.

Issues

  1. Whether there was a contract between the plaintiff and the defendant.
  2. Whether there was a misrepresentation by the defendant.
  3. Whether there was a breach of contract and if so are the remedies available to the aggrieved party.

Orders

  • Plaintiff awarded the unencumbered open market value of the 22 years balance lease fixed at UGX 190,000,000.
  • General damages for breach of contract including misrepresentation fixed at UGX 2,000,000.
  • Plaintiff awarded mesne profits of UGX 650,000 per month per unit from 1 August 1992 until date of delivery of judgment.
  • Plaintiff awarded refund of UGX 50,000 paid to the Bank of Uganda under Uganda Special Divestiture Revolving Fund.
  • Plaintiff awarded interest on the decretal sum at court rates.
  • Plaintiff awarded costs of the suit.

Rules and key headnotes

Contract Formation — Government Contracts — Sale of Expropriated Property
A valid contract is formed when a claimant complies with the conditions set by the government verification committee for purchase of expropriated property, including payment of the prescribed token fee and receipt of a certificate of purchase.
Misrepresentation — False Statements Inducing Contract
A party is liable for misrepresentation where it makes statements before or at the time of contracting that induce the other party to enter the contract, which statements turn out to be false, including representation that the party has good title to property being sold when the property had already been re-entered by the original owner on court order.
Damages for Breach of Contract — Assessment of Market Value
Where a seller breaches a contract for sale of land by failing to deliver good title, the measure of damages is the unencumbered open market value of the property that would have been obtained had the contract been properly performed.
Expropriated Properties — Government Sale Without Good Title
The government cannot validly sell expropriated property where the original lessor has already obtained a court order for re-entry against the custodian board, and any such purported sale constitutes misrepresentation entitling the purchaser to damages.

Legislation cited (3)

Full judgment

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

Captain Muhammed Omari v Attorney General (Civil Suit No.607 of 1995) [1996] UGHC 11 (12 January 1996)
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.