Wakilii

East Mengo Growers Co-operative Union Ltd v The Registrar of Titles ( Miscellaneous Cause No.48 of 2009) (Miscellaneous Cause No.48 of 2009)

High Court · [2009] UGHC 112 · 2009 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to delay removal of caveat arising from pending civil suit
Decision
Caveat removal delayed pending determination of Civil Suit No. 23 of 2007

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 3 (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 3 times with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Citations rising — 3 citing cases on record, 3 in the most recent three data years. 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 Land Division granted an order delaying removal of a caveat lodged by the applicant on subdivided land. The applicant had purchased the original plot but discovered fraudulent subdivisions and transfers. The court exercised discretion under Registration of Titles Act s.140(3) to protect the applicant's interests pending determination of a related civil suit challenging the land transfers.

Outcome

Caveat removal delayed pending determination of Civil Suit No. 23 of 2007

Facts

The applicant purchased Kyadondo Block 265 Plot 89 from Geresome Katamba on 10 November 1995 and obtained professional valuation. Due to squatters, registration was delayed. In May 2006, when attempting registration, the applicant discovered both duplicate and original certificates of title missing from the Land Registry. The land had been fraudulently transferred from Katamba to Namirimu, then to Kaweesa Henry, with whom the applicant had no dealings. Plot 89 was subdivided into 25 plots. To protect its interests, the applicant lodged a caveat on all subdivided plots on 22 November 2006 and filed Civil Suit No. 23 of 2007 against Kaweesa Henry to cancel new entries and restore the original title. The Registrar issued notice on 12 May 2009 to remove the caveat, prompting this application.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant's caveat on Kyadondo Block 265 Plot 6204 should be delayed from removal pending determination of the parties' interests.

Orders

  • Application allowed.
  • The applicant's caveat on Kyadondo Block 265 Plot 6204 at Bunamwaya vide instrument No. KLA 315085 dated 22 November 2006 shall not be removed by the Registrar until such time as the interest of the parties is determined.
  • Costs of this application to be met by the applicant.

Rules and key headnotes

Land Registration — Caveats — Delay of Removal Pending Suit
Under the Registration of Titles Act s.140(3), the court has discretion to direct the Registrar to delay registering any dealing or make any order suitable in the circumstances where a caveator has a valid cause and interests requiring protection pending determination of a related suit.
Affidavit Evidence — Unchallenged Averments — Presumption of Acceptance
Where facts are sworn to in an affidavit and are not denied or rebutted by the opposite party, the presumption is that such facts are accepted and the burden to deny them is on the other party.
Land Registration — Caveats — Protection Against Fraudulent Dealings
A purchaser who discovers fraudulent intermediate transfers and subdivisions of land originally purchased by them is entitled to lodge a caveat to protect their interests against further dealings pending determination of their claim to the land.

Legislation cited (2)

  • Registration of Titles Act Cap.230 s.140(2)
  • Registration of Titles Act Cap.230 s.140(3)

Cases cited (1)

  • Samwiri Massa v Rose Achen (HCB 297 of 1978)

Cases citing this judgment (3)

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

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

East Mengo Growers Co-operative Union Ltd v The Registrar of Titles ( Miscellaneous Cause No.48 of 2009) (Miscellaneous Cause No.48 of 2009) [2009] UGHC 112 (30 November 2009)
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.