Wakilii

Ella Solutions Limited v Ssegujja & 4 Others (Miscellaneous Appeal 1 of 2023)

High Court · [2024] UGHC 920 · 2024 Appeal Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal from ruling of Acting Deputy Registrar dismissing application for temporary injunction
Decision
Temporary injunction granted restraining respondents from dealing with suit land pending final determination of main suit

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court allowed the appeal, holding that the Acting Deputy Registrar erred in dismissing the application for a temporary injunction. The Court found that the appellant established a prima facie case, demonstrated that it would suffer irreparable injury from third party interests being created on disputed land, and that the balance of convenience favoured preservation of the status quo. A temporary injunction was granted restraining the respondents from disposing of, foreclosing, or creating third party interests in the suit land pending final determination of the main suit.

Outcome

Temporary injunction granted restraining respondents from dealing with suit land pending final determination of main suit

Facts

The appellant (Ella Solutions Limited) sold land to the 1st to 3rd respondents for a total purchase price payable in instalments. The respondents paid UGX 30,000,000 as first instalment but failed to pay the second instalment of UGX 110,000,000. Despite incomplete payment, the respondents transferred the land into their names and mortgaged it to the 4th respondent (Goldmine Finance Limited) to secure a loan. The appellant filed suit seeking recovery of the land, claiming the transfer was fraudulent as payment was incomplete. The appellant sought a temporary injunction to prevent the respondents from disposing of or creating third party interests in the land. The Acting Deputy Registrar dismissed the application, finding that the appellant had not established detriment, irreparable injury, or that the balance of convenience favoured granting the injunction. The appellant appealed that dismissal.

Issues

  1. Whether the learned Acting Deputy Registrar erred in law and fact in dismissing Miscellaneous Application No. 427 of 2022

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • The ruling and orders of the learned Acting Deputy Registrar in Miscellaneous Application No. 427 of 2022 delivered on 28 February 2023 are hereby reversed and set aside.
  • The 1st to 3rd Respondents should be maintained as the registered proprietors of the suit land in the Land Register until the final determination of Civil Suit No. 217 of 2022.
  • A temporary injunction is hereby issued against the Respondents restraining them, their agents, servants, employees or those who derive survival from them from disposing off, foreclosure, creating third party interests or dealing with the suit land comprised in Kyaggwe Block 113, Plot 1521 land at Nantabuliriwa until the final determination of Civil Suit No. 217 of 2022.
  • Upon expiry of the loan terms between the 1st to 3rd Respondents and the 4th Respondent on 2 March 2025, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Respondents are hereby restrained from further mortgaging of the suit land to either the 4th Respondent or any other financial entity and the 5th Respondent is also restrained from registration of any future mortgage regarding the suit land.
  • Costs of this appeal shall abide the outcome of Civil Suit No. 217 of 2022.

Rules and key headnotes

Temporary Injunctions — Prima Facie Case
To establish a prima facie case for a temporary injunction, the applicant must show that there is an issue raising a case for adjudication on the face of it, though the case need not necessarily succeed at trial. The claim must be neither frivolous nor vexatious.
Temporary Injunctions — Irreparable Injury
Irreparable injury does not mean physical impossibility of repairing the injury, but means a substantial or material injury that cannot be adequately compensated for in damages. In land disputes where the plaintiff seeks recovery of property, creation of third party claims may constitute irreparable injury where the defendants owe substantial unpaid purchase price and may be unable to adequately compensate the plaintiff.
Temporary Injunctions — Balance of Convenience
The balance of convenience lies more with the party who will suffer greater detriment if a temporary injunction is granted or denied. Where an appellant will be greatly affected by creation of third party interests in disputed land whose title is registered in respondents' names before completion of payment of the purchase price, the balance of convenience favours granting the injunction to maintain the status quo.
Appellate Jurisdiction — First Appellate Court
The first appellate court has a duty to review the evidence, reconsider the materials before the lower court, and make up its mind not disregarding the judgment appealed from but carefully weighing and considering it.

Legislation cited (8)

Cases cited (6)

  • Kifamunte Henry v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 10 of 1997)
  • Moses Kasozi v Muhamad Batte and Others (Miscellaneous Civil Appeal No. 24 of 2020)
  • Yahaya Kariisa v Attorney General and Another (SCCA No. 7 of 1994)
  • American Cyanamid Co v Ethicon Ltd [1975] 1 All ER 504
  • Giella v Cassman Brown & Co Ltd [1973] EA 358
  • E.L.T Kiyimba Kaggwa v Haji Abdu Nasser Katende [1985] HCB 43

Full judgment

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

Ella Solutions Limited v Ssegujja & 4 Others (Miscellaneous Appeal 1 of 2023) [2024] UGHC 920 (30 September 2024)
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.