In the matter of the Estate of the Late Hajji Sulaiman Mukasa (Miscellaneous Application 233 of 2025)

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held that a court which issued letters of administration may, under sections 256(3) and 337(4) of the Succession Act Cap 268, extend their validity after expiry, but the applicant must show just cause where the grant was made before 31 May 2022. The applicant, granted letters in November 2013, relied on pending beneficiary suits and undistributed estate property. The court found that most beneficiaries, including one of the surviving administrators, opposed renewal and that no just cause had been demonstrated to warrant exercise of the court's discretion. The application was dismissed, the family urged to reach consensus on who should manage the estate, and each party ordered to bear its own lawyer's fees.

Outcome

Application for renewal of letters of administration dismissed; letters not extended and family urged to agree on estate management

Facts

Letters of administration for the estate of the late Hajji Sulaiman Mukasa were granted to the applicant, Afusa Bikaku Rosette Mukasa, on 4 November 2013 in Administration Cause HCT-05-FD-AC-180-2013. The grant having lapsed, the applicant moved the court for renewal of the grant in favour of herself and Naila Namatovu as surviving administrators, and for leave to file an inventory and accounts. She deposed that the estate had been subjected to lawsuits filed by some beneficiaries which had persisted, that the estate property therefore remained undistributed and unmanaged pending those suits, and that renewal was in the interest of justice. The application was supported by an affidavit and by written submissions on record. Beneficiaries appeared in court on 15 and 22 June 2026: several recorded support for the application, while a larger group, including the co-administrator Naila Namatovu, recorded their objection. Counsel appeared for the 1st, 5th, 13th and 14th respondents; counsel for the applicant was absent.

Issues

1. Whether the applicant had shown just cause under section 337(4) of the Succession Act Cap 268 for the court to exercise its discretion to extend the validity of letters of administration granted before 31 May 2022.
2. Whether the pendency of suits filed by beneficiaries and the opposition of most beneficiaries and a surviving co-administrator affected the grant of renewal.

Orders

• The application is dismissed.
• The family members are urged to reconcile their differences and generate consensus on who can manage the estate.
• The parties should each pay their respective lawyer's fees.

Rules and key headnotes

Legislation cited (8)

• Succession Act Cap 268 s.256(2)
• Succession Act Cap 268 s.256(3)
• Succession Act Cap 268 s.337(2)
• Succession Act Cap 268 s.337(4)
• Civil Procedure Act Cap 282 s.98
• Civil Procedure Rules S.I 71-1 O.52 rr.1, 2 & 3
• Interpretation Act Cap 2 s.34(3)
• Judicature Act Cap 16 s.37

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