Wakilii

Grace Kabayo Majoro v George Kiiza (Civil Suit 3 of 2019)

High Court · [2022] UGHC 157 · 2022 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for declaration of ownership, trespass, eviction and damages; defendant filed defence and counterclaim seeking specific performance and damages
Decision
Defendant declared a trespasser on titled land and ordered to vacate; defendant's counterclaim dismissed; parties to bear own costs given familial relationship

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that the 400 acres sold by the plaintiff to the defendant under a 2002 sale agreement did not form part of the plaintiff's titled 241 hectares. The defendant was found to be a trespasser on the titled land, having moved from his original residence on un-surveyed land to a location within the surveyed and titled 241 hectares without the plaintiff's authorization. The sale agreement required survey and titling, indicating the 400 acres were on un-surveyed land. The defendant's counterclaim for specific performance to transfer 400 acres from the titled land was dismissed.

Outcome

Defendant declared a trespasser on titled land and ordered to vacate; defendant's counterclaim dismissed; parties to bear own costs given familial relationship

Facts

The plaintiff inherited rights to acquire a 625-hectare lease in Nalutete, Mubende District in 1987. She was granted a lease by Uganda Land Commission in 1988 for an initial 5-year term. Only 241 hectares were surveyed and the plaintiff obtained a leasehold title to this land (Plot 3 Block 379) in 1992. The defendant, the plaintiff's cousin, was allowed to caretake the entire 625 hectares and resided on the un-surveyed portion. In 2002, the plaintiff sold 400 acres to the defendant for 50 heads of cattle under a sale agreement. The agreement stated the 400 acres were the land on which the defendant was already in possession and required survey and titling. The defendant subsequently moved from his original location outside the titled land to a position within the plaintiff's titled 241 hectares without authorization. He claimed the 400 acres were part of the titled land and sought specific performance to transfer them from the titled land.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiff has an interest in 625 hectares contained in the lease offer.
  2. Whether the defendant purchased 400 acres from the 625 hectares in the lease offer or from the titled 241 hectares.
  3. Which portion of the 625 hectares was the defendant in possession in 2002 when he purchased 400 acres from the plaintiff.
  4. What is the location of the 400 acres.
  5. Whether the defendant sold and rented out the plaintiff's land that he was given to care take.
  6. Whether the defendant has committed trespass over the plaintiff's land.

Orders

  • Declaration issued that the plaintiff is the lawful and rightful owner of the titled 241 hectares.
  • Declaration that the defendant has no claim or color of right in respect of the titled 241 hectares and is a trespasser thereon.
  • Order for delivery of vacant possession evicting the defendant and/or his agents or anyone claiming title under him from the titled 241 hectares.
  • Declaration that the defendant is only entitled to 400 acres outside the titled 241 hectares to be measured starting from the point at which he was ordinarily resident at the time of executing the sale agreement.
  • The plaintiff should facilitate the defendant's acquisition of title on the un-surveyed land as agreed.
  • No order as to general damages, mesne profits and punitive damages.
  • The counterclaim dismissed.
  • Each party to bear their own costs both in the main suit and in the counterclaim.

Rules and key headnotes

Contractual Interpretation — Objective Theory — Four Corners Rule
Where the intentions of parties have been reduced into writing, courts adopt the objective theory of contract interpretation with the overriding aim of giving effect to the intentions of the parties by construing the document according to the ordinary grammatical meaning of the words used therein and without reference to anything which has previously passed between the parties.
Sale of Land — Location of Property — Interpretation of Agreement Terms
Where a sale agreement for land provides that the purchaser shall assume ownership of land for which he is already in possession and includes clauses requiring survey and acquisition of title for that land, the property sold is properly construed as the un-surveyed land where the purchaser was actually resident at the time of agreement, not titled land already surveyed and registered.
Pleadings — Parties Bound by Pleadings — Amendments
Parties are bound by their pleadings and cannot be allowed to raise a different or fresh case without due amendment properly made. Each party knows the case he has to meet and cannot be taken by surprise at trial. The court itself is bound by the pleadings and cannot enter upon any inquiry other than to adjudicate upon the specific matters in dispute raised by the parties in the pleadings.
Trespass to Land — Elements — Unlawful Entry Without Permission
Trespass to land occurs when a person makes an unauthorized entry upon another's land thereby interfering with another person's lawful possession of the land. To prove trespass, a plaintiff must establish that the disputed land belongs to him, that the respondent entered upon that land, and that the entry was unlawful in that it was made without his permission or that the respondent had no claim or right or interest in the land.
Cause of Action — Disclosure — Essential Elements
A cause of action consists of three essential elements: that the plaintiff enjoyed a right, that the right has been violated, and that it was the defendant who was liable. In determining whether a plaint discloses a cause of action, the court must look only at the plaint and its annexures and assume that the facts alleged therein are true.
Preliminary Objections — Requirements — Point of Law Disposing of Suit
A preliminary objection consists of a point of law which has been pleaded, or which arises by clear implication out of the pleadings, and which if argued as a preliminary point may dispose of the suit. An objection that does not carry the effect of decisively disposing of the suit is not a proper preliminary objection.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (14)

  • Auto Garage v Motokov (1971) EA 514
  • Drummond Jackson v Britain Medical Association (1970) 2 WLR 688
  • Read v Brown (1889) 22 QBD 128
  • Letang v Cooper [1964] 2 All ER 929
  • Jeraj Shariff & Co v Chotai Fancy Stores [1960] EA 374
  • Attorney General v Oluoch [1972] EA 392
  • Kapeka Coffee Works Ltd v NPART (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 3 of 2000)
  • Mukisa Biscuit Manufacturing Co Ltd v West End Distributors Ltd [1969] EA 696
  • Prudential Assurance Company of Kenya Limited v Sukhwinder Singh Jutley & Another [2007] eKLR
  • Lovell & Christmas Ltd v Wall (1911) 104 LT 85
  • Malawi Railways Ltd v Nyasulu [1998] MWSC 3
  • Adetonn Oladejo (NIG) Ltd v Nigeria Breweries PLC (SC 91/2002)
  • Justine E M N Lutaava v Stirling Civil Eng (Civil Appeal No. 11 of 2002)
  • Sheik Muhammed Lubowa v Kitara Enterprises Ltd (Court of Appeal No. 4 of 1987)

Full judgment

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

Grace Kabayo Majoro v George Kiiza (Civil Suit 3 of 2019) [2022] UGHC 157 (26 October 2022)
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.