Wakilii

Elicka Solace Mbuza v Hellen Mbuza Mbabazi (Miscellaneous Application 4521 of 2025)

High Court · [2025] UGHCFD 185 · 2025 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for interim maintenance order pending determination of civil suit challenging will and paternity
Decision
Interim maintenance order granted at UGX 3,500,000 per term pending final determination of main suit

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court granted interim maintenance of UGX 3,500,000 per school term for a 15-year-old minor beneficiary named in her deceased father's will. The court held that a child's right to maintenance remains urgent and independent of disputes over estate distribution or paternity, and that the best interests of the child prevail over procedural and proprietary disputes among adults.

Outcome

Interim maintenance order granted at UGX 3,500,000 per term pending final determination of main suit

Facts

The applicant, a 15-year-old minor, is the biological daughter of the late Dr. Francis Mbuza Mugisha who died on 7 December 2021. The deceased left a will bequeathing rental apartments on Mawanda Road and a farm in Wakiso to the applicant for her maintenance and education. The respondent, the deceased's widow, filed a civil suit challenging the will and the applicant's entitlement, and is collecting rent from the bequeathed properties. Since the father's death, the applicant has received no financial benefit from the estate. The applicant's next friend manages a property in Ibanda generating approximately UGX 500,000 per month after deductions, which is insufficient for the child's secondary school fees and welfare needs.

Issues

  1. Whether it is in the best interest of the child that an order of maintenance be issued in her favour pending determination of the main suit.

Orders

  • The respondent, or any person collecting rent or other income from the properties comprising the estate of the late Dr. Francis Mbuza Mugisha at Mawanda Road and the farm in Wakiso District, shall remit UGX 3,500,000 every school term to the applicant's next friend for the maintenance, education, and welfare of the minor pending the final determination of HCCS No. 290 of 2022.
  • The payments shall commence from the date of this ruling and continue until further orders of this court.
  • Any other miscellaneous needs of the child shall be covered by the next friend of the applicant.
  • Each party shall bear its own costs, this being a matter concerning a minor's welfare.

Rules and key headnotes

Family Law — Child Maintenance — Best Interests of the Child — Paramount Consideration
In all matters involving children, the best interests of the child and the welfare of the child shall be of paramount consideration, and any decision must be taken in the best interest of the child.
Family Law — Child Maintenance — Right to Maintenance — Independence from Estate Disputes
A minor's right to maintenance remains urgent, continuous, and independent of the final distribution of the estate, and the fact that the legality of a will or paternity is contested in a civil suit does not extinguish the minor's right to maintenance.
Succession & Estates — Interim Maintenance — Court's Inherent Jurisdiction — Pending Estate Distribution
Where an estate is under dispute, the court retains inherent jurisdiction to make interim maintenance orders for dependents who are minors pending the conclusion of administration proceedings, and maintenance is not an act of intermeddling but a necessary duty to protect a child's welfare.
Family Law — Child Maintenance — Best Interests Prevail Over Adult Disputes
In determining matters affecting a child, the best interests of the child must prevail over procedural and proprietary disputes among adults, and a child of tender years cannot be left to suffer want while the deceased's estate yields income.

Legislation cited (12)

Cases cited (3)

  • Kisakye v Kiggundu and Another (Family Cause No. 12 of 2018)
  • In the Matter of the Estate of the Late Sarah Nabakka (Miscellaneous Cause No. 14 of 2017)
  • In the Estate of the Late Abasi Magala (HCT-00-FD-FC-0103-2019)

Full judgment

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

Elicka Solace Mbuza v Hellen Mbuza Mbabazi (Miscellaneous Application 4521 of 2025) [2025] UGHCFD 185 (24 November 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.