Wakilii

Ddamulira Laddisirawo v Commissioner Land Registration and Another (Miscellaneous Cause No. 07 of 2022)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 1136 · 2025 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application by Notice of Motion seeking orders for creation of certificate of title and transfer of beneficial share from estate administered under Buganda Succession Register
Decision
Application allowed. 1st Respondent directed to create certificate of title and, upon submission of location survey report and satisfaction that no third-party interests are prejudiced, to mutate and transfer 35 acres to the Applicant as his beneficial share from the estate.

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

The High Court held that beneficiaries listed in Buganda Succession Registers possess locus standi to claim their shares without further administration. Where the Local Administrations (Performance of Functions) Instrument S.I. No. 150 of 1967 has been deleted, creating a regulatory vacuum, the court may exercise inherent jurisdiction under sections 33 of the Judicature Act and 98 of the Civil Procedure Act to order creation of a certificate of title and transfer of land to a beneficiary named in a Succession Register, to prevent injustice and give effect to vested proprietary rights.

Outcome

Application allowed. 1st Respondent directed to create certificate of title and, upon submission of location survey report and satisfaction that no third-party interests are prejudiced, to mutate and transfer 35 acres to the Applicant as his beneficial share from the estate.

Facts

The late Alege Musoke died on 21 February 1958 leaving a will detailing distribution of his estate, including approximately 60.73 acres of Mailo land registered as Vol. 525 Folio 7 Mawokota Block 313 Plot 12 at Kawumba Village, Mpigi District. The distribution was recorded in Succession Register Book No. SR/15/1828, which named the Applicant, Ddamulira Laddisirawo, as heir and bequeathed him 35 acres from the land. The Kasimba Clan conducted succession proceedings on 13 July 1961 and forwarded the record to the Lukiiko and Kabaka for assent in accordance with the Buganda Succession Law of 1912. The Applicant repeatedly approached the Administrator General to facilitate transfer of his share but received no response. The Applicant then filed this application seeking orders for creation of a certificate of title and transfer of his 35-acre beneficial share. The 1st Respondent did not dispute the Applicant's beneficial interest but raised procedural concerns regarding land availability, third-party interests, and the need for a location survey report. The 2nd Respondent did not file a response.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant has established sufficient grounds to warrant the creation of a white page (certificate of title) for Mawokota Block 313 Plot 12 at Kawumba.
  2. Whether the Applicant is entitled to an order directing the mutation and transfer of 35 acres from the said land into his names as his beneficial share from the estate of the late Alege Musoke.
  3. Whether the Applicant is entitled to costs of this application.

Orders

  • The 1st Respondent is directed to create a white page (Certificate of Title) for land comprised in Vol. 525 Folio 7 Mawokota Block 313 Plot 12 situated at Kawumba Village, Musale Sub-County, Mawokota County, Mpigi District.
  • The Applicant shall procure and submit a location survey report to the 1st Respondent confirming the land's boundaries, availability, and absence of third-party claims or overlapping titles in respect of the said land.
  • Upon compliance with Orders 1 and 2 and upon the 1st Respondent's satisfaction that no third-party interests are prejudiced, the 1st Respondent shall at the Applicant's cost, mutate and transfer 35 acres from the said land into the Applicant's name, as his beneficial share from the estate of the late Alege Musoke, in accordance with the binding distribution in Succession Register No. SR/15/1828.
  • The 2nd Respondent shall cooperate with the 1st Respondent by availing any relevant estate records or documentation necessary to facilitate compliance with the above, notwithstanding the limits on its jurisdiction over such estates.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Succession & Estates — Buganda Succession Registers — Legal Status and Enforceability
Buganda Succession Registers are historical records originating from the Kingdom of Buganda Succession Law of 1912 which detail a deceased person's estate, its distribution, and beneficiaries. Once assented to by the Kabaka, the distribution became a formal succession record entered in the Succession Register, which deemed the estate fully administered and binding on all interested parties.
Succession & Estates — Administrator General — Jurisdiction Over Estates Administered Under Succession Registers
The deletion of the Local Administrations (Performance of Functions) Instrument S.I. No. 150 of 1967 from the revised laws of Uganda stripped the Administrator General of jurisdiction over estates administered under Buganda Succession Registers, including the power to issue Certificates of Succession, Certificates of No Objection, or new letters of administration related to such estates.
Succession & Estates — Beneficiaries Under Succession Registers — Locus Standi
Beneficiaries listed in Buganda Succession Registers possess locus standi to claim their respective shares without recourse to further administration, as the estates were deemed fully administered upon the Kabaka's assent.
Administrative Law — Inherent Jurisdiction — Exercise to Fill Regulatory Vacuum
Where the deletion of legislation creates a regulatory vacuum leaving beneficiaries unable to realize vested rights under Buganda Succession Registers, the court may exercise its inherent jurisdiction under section 33 of the Judicature Act and section 98 of the Civil Procedure Act to make orders necessary to prevent injustice and give effect to established proprietary entitlements.
Civil Procedure — Inherent Jurisdiction — Scope and Limits
Inherent jurisdiction constitutes a reserve or residual source of authority which the court may draw upon as necessary whenever it is just or equitable to do so, to ensure due process, prevent improper vexation or oppression, do justice between parties, and secure a fair trial. While inherent power should not be exercised in contravention of legislation or rules of court, it may properly be invoked where written law provides no adequate remedy and where its exercise is necessary to prevent a failure of justice.
Civil Procedure — Costs — Discretion Not to Award Costs Against Public Institutions Acting in Good Faith
Although costs ordinarily follow the event under section 27 of the Civil Procedure Act, the court may exercise its discretion not to award costs against public institutions performing statutory functions within the scope of their mandates where there is no evidence of mala fides, obstruction, or bad faith.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (7)

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

↓ Download PDF

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

Ddamulira Laddisirawo v Commissioner Land Registration and Another (Miscellaneous Cause No. 07 of 2022) [2025] UGHC 1136 (13 October 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.