Wakilii

In the Matter of an Application for Judicial Review seeking Prerogative Orders of Certiorari, Mandamus and Damages by Watoto Church Ministries and Kampala Play House Limited (Misc Cause 207 of 2022) [

High Court · [2023] UGHCCD 207 Judicial Review Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review seeking orders of certiorari, mandamus, and damages, plus extension of time to file
Decision
Application granted; decision to reject development plans set aside; matter remitted to respondents for reconsideration within three months

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court granted judicial review and set aside KCCA and NPPB's rejection of the applicants' mixed-use development plans. The court held that while KCCA has physical planning powers that include heritage protection, it acted illegally and irrationally by relying on opinions from the Ministry of Tourism to reject the plans without enacting a bylaw designating the property as a national heritage site. A writ of mandamus was issued directing the respondents to reconsider the application within three months, applying existing planning regulations. The court further directed KCCA to enact a bylaw within three years listing all properties to be protected as heritage sites within the city.

Outcome

Application granted; decision to reject development plans set aside; matter remitted to respondents for reconsideration within three months

Facts

Watoto Church Ministries acquired property in 1984 and operated a church thereon. In 2010, the church embarked on an effort to develop the property into a mixed-use complex. In 2019, their architects, Kampala Playhouse Limited, submitted development plans to KCCA for approval. KCCA rejected the plans on the grounds that the building was a national heritage site with features of cultural significance, relying on consultation with the National Physical Planning Board and opinions from the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities. The applicants engaged NPPB and later escalated the matter to the Attorney-General and the Executive Director of KCCA, seeking guidance on the legal basis for the heritage listing and requesting reconsideration of their plans. No statutory instrument had been issued designating the property as a heritage site. The applicants claimed that the rejection was procedurally improper, illegal, irrational, and had caused financial losses exceeding UGX 4.4 billion. The respondents maintained that the property's cultural significance justified the rejection and proposed forming a multi-sectoral committee to make the development plans culturally sensitive, which the applicants rejected.

Issues

  1. Whether the court should grant an extension of time within which to file the application for judicial review.
  2. Whether the applicants exhausted the available local remedies before seeking judicial review.
  3. Whether the decision by KCCA and NPPB to reject the applicants' mixed-use development plan on grounds that the property is a national heritage site was legally sustainable.
  4. Whether the categorisation of the applicants' property as a national heritage site without a statutory instrument was procedurally proper, legal, and rational.
  5. Whether the application is amenable to judicial review and whether orders of certiorari and mandamus should be granted.
  6. Whether the applicants are entitled to general damages arising from the respondents' refusal to approve their development plan.

Orders

  • The decision to reject the mixed-use plans of the Watoto church and Kampala Playhouse by the KCCA and the NPPB is reviewed and set aside on account that the decision was procedurally illegal and improper.
  • A writ of mandamus is issued against the respondents to reconsider the Watoto Church mixed-use development plans application within 3 months from the date of the ruling.
  • In complying with paragraph 2 of this order, the respondents are at liberty to consider the existing KCCA physical development planning regulations and guidelines.
  • In future, should the KCCA wish to declare any property within its geographical limits a national heritage site, a bylaw should first be enacted to give it effect.
  • The role of the NPPA in the planning and controlling of land use in the KCCA should be minimised given the provision of the MPPA which is self-executing.
  • The KCCA should, within a period of 3 years, enact a bylaw listing all the properties within the capital city that should be protected as national heritage sites.
  • Where necessary, the properties to be listed should be compulsorily acquired and the owners compensated first as required under the law.
  • Costs of the application are awarded to the applicants.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Extension of Time — Exhaustion of Local Remedies
An extension of time to file an application for judicial review may be granted where the delay arose from the applicant's diligent efforts to exhaust internal remedies, particularly where the appellate framework is unclear or the available remedies are uncertain and evidently unfair to the applicant.
Physical Planning — Internal Appeal Mechanisms — Relationship Between KCCA and NPPB
The Metropolitan Physical Planning Authority (MPPA) under the Kampala Capital City Act is analogous to an 'urban physical planning committee' under the National Physical Planning Act; the MPPA is the proper first internal appellate body for KCCA planning decisions, not the National Physical Planning Board, though resort to NPPB in unclear circumstances is not fatal.
Heritage Sites — Statutory Requirements for Designation
Under the Historical Monuments Act 1968, designation of property as a national heritage site requires a statutory instrument issued by the Minister. In the absence of such an instrument and in light of newer legislation, KCCA cannot lawfully rely on informal opinions from the Ministry of Tourism to reject development plans on heritage grounds without enacting its own bylaw.
Harmonisation of Statutes — Implied Amendment by Later Legislation
When a new statutory framework is enacted under a later constitution, courts must interpret the provisions harmoniously and may infer that older legislation has been impliedly amended where the new framework vests comprehensive powers in a new authority that overlap with or supersede the old regime.
Fettering of Discretion — Abdication of Statutory Functions
A statutory authority unreasonably fetters its discretion and acts illegally when it abdicates its own planning functions by deferring entirely to the opinions of another government body that lacks statutory authority to make the decision in question.
Judicial Review — Grounds for Review — Illegality and Irrationality
A planning decision that purports to implement heritage protection without following the procedural requirements of the applicable legal framework is both procedurally illegal and manifestly irrational, rendering it amenable to judicial review and liable to be quashed.
Mandamus — Duty to Reconsider After Unlawful Decision Set Aside
Where a court sets aside an administrative decision as illegal and improper, it may issue a writ of mandamus compelling the decision-maker to reconsider the application afresh in accordance with the applicable legal framework, regulations, and guidelines.

Legislation cited (24)

Cases cited (22)

  • Magoma Denis & 43 Others v Kampala Capital City Authority (Miscellaneous Cause No. 191 of 2022)
  • Dr Sheikh Ahmed Kisule v Greenland Bank (in liquidation) (Miscellaneous Application No. 2 of 2012)
  • Kintu Samuel and Another v Registrar of Companies and Others (Miscellaneous Cause No. 58 of 2021)
  • Dr Pariyo Bonane v Dr Nathan Onyanchi & Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 48 of 2020)
  • Uganda Revenue Authority v Consolidated Properties Ltd (Court of Appeal No. 13 of 2000)
  • Prime Constructors Ltd v Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority and Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 91 of 2014)
  • Green Pastures Ltd v Cooperative Bank Ltd (in liquidation) (Miscellaneous Application No. 172 of 2015)
  • Bazirio Kivumbi v Iburahim Ismail (Civil Suit No. 48 of 1957)
  • RB Policies at Lloyd's v Butler [1949] 2 ALL ER 226
  • Dawson Kadope v Uganda Revenue Authority (Judicial Review Miscellaneous Cause No. 0040 of 2019)
  • Microcare Insurance Limited v Uganda Insurance Commission (Miscellaneous Cause No. 218 of 2009)
  • Classy Photo Mart Limited v Commissioner Customs Uganda Revenue Authority (Miscellaneous Cause No. 30 of 2009)
  • City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality v Gauteng Development Tribunal and others CCT 89/09 [2010] ZACC 11
  • In Re Afro-Motors Ltd & Another (Miscellaneous Cause No. 693 of 2006)
  • Jayantilal S Shah v The Attorney General (Miscellaneous Cause No. 31 of 1969)
  • Redmond v Lexington County School District No. Four: 314 S.C. 431) 4371445 S.E. 2d 441) 445, (1994)
  • Credit Suisse v Allerdale Borough Council [1997] QB 306
  • Shah v Attorney General (1970) EA 543
  • Minister for Aboriginal Affairs v Peko-Wallsend Ltd: (1986) 162 CLR 24
  • Wednesbury Corporation [1948] 1 KB, 228
  • Edwards (Inspector of Taxes) v Bairstow [1955] 3 ALL ER [1956] AC 14
  • Council of Civil Service Union v Minister for Civil Service [1984] 3 ALL ER 935

Full judgment

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In the Matter of an Application for Judicial Review seeking Prerogative Orders of Certiorari, Mandamus and Damages by Watoto Church Ministries and Kampala Play House Limited (Misc Cause 207 of 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.