Wakilii

Huthy Dart Mutumba v Pamco Real Estate Agency Limited (H.C.Miscellaneous Application No. 1277 of 2020)

High Court · [2020] UGHCLD 62 · 2020 Preliminary Objection Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to stay and set aside an order for removal of caveat, with preliminary objection raised to the validity of the supporting affidavit
Decision
Preliminary objection overruled; matter to proceed to hearing on the merits

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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.

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

An advocate with knowledge of the facts may swear an affidavit in support of an application provided the advocate is not in personal conduct of the matter. Where the deponent identifies himself as an advocate working with the firm on record and conversant with the facts, this sufficiently explains the capacity under which the affidavit was sworn and the affidavit is not defective.

Outcome

Preliminary objection overruled; matter to proceed to hearing on the merits

Facts

The applicant brought an application seeking to stay and set aside an order issued in Miscellaneous Cause No. 92 of 2020 for removal of a caveat on land at Buwate, Kyadondo Block 192, Plots 3334-3335. When the matter came up for hearing, counsel for the respondent raised a preliminary objection that the affidavit supporting the application was defective because it was sworn by Mr. Mutegyeka Nicholas, an advocate with Katarikawe & Co. Advocates, who allegedly lacked authority to depone the affidavit on behalf of the applicant. The respondent argued that the deponent did not state his authority or power to swear the affidavit. The applicant's counsel replied that the affidavit indicated the deponent's capacity as an advocate working with the firm on record for the applicant and that advocates are recognised agents of their clients under the Civil Procedure Rules.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant's affidavit in support is defective and should be struck off the court record?

Orders

  • Preliminary objection overruled.
  • Costs in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Affidavits — Capacity of Deponent — Advocate with Knowledge of Facts
An advocate with knowledge of the facts of a matter may swear an affidavit in support of an application provided the advocate is not in personal conduct of the matter as counsel.
Civil Procedure — Affidavits — Defective Affidavits — Sufficiency of Description of Deponent's Capacity
Where a deponent describes himself in an affidavit as an advocate working with a named firm and conversant with the facts pertaining to the application, this description is sufficient to explain the capacity under which the affidavit was sworn and the affidavit is not defective.
Civil Procedure — Affidavits — Advocate as Witness and Counsel — Prohibition
An advocate should not act as both a witness and counsel in the same matter, and an affidavit sworn by counsel in personal conduct of the matter is fatally defective.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (1)

  • Ismail T/a Bombo City Stores v Alex Kamukamu & Others T/a Bazari (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 7 of 1987)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Huthy_Dart_Mutumba_v_Pamco_Real_Estate_Agency_Limited_(H.C.Miscellaneous_Application_No._1277_of_2020)_[2020]_UGHCLD_62_(14_December_2020)
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.