Wakilii

Jomayi Property Consultants Limited v Bulamu and 4 Others (Miscellaneous Application 180 of 2021)

High Court · [2022] UGHCLD 285 · 2022 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for contempt of court arising from High Court Civil Suit No. 057 of 2017
Decision
Application for contempt of court dismissed; parties directed to await determination of pending appeal in Court of Appeal

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

Court dismissed an application for contempt of court where two conflicting High Court judgments existed concerning the same land. The court held that parties could not be found in contempt of a court order that is subject to a pending appeal before the Court of Appeal. The second, third, fourth, and fifth respondents were not parties to the original suit and could not have been aware of its orders. Application dismissed with each party bearing its own costs.

Outcome

Application for contempt of court dismissed; parties directed to await determination of pending appeal in Court of Appeal

Facts

The applicant purchased plots 45, 46, and 49 subdivided from Mawokota Block 60 Plot 15. In HCCS No. 57 of 2017, the High Court validated the applicant's purchase and declared it a bonafide purchaser. The first respondent and co-plaintiffs appealed this decision via Civil Appeal No. 237 of 2019, which remained pending. Meanwhile, relying on an earlier Family Division decree in HCCS No. 197 of 2015 that had revoked the administrator's letters and ordered reversion of the property to the estate of the late Benwa Kisalita, the respondents caused cancellation of the applicant's titles, obtained a special certificate of title for Plot 15, subdivided it into Plots 2048-2054, and transferred them to third parties. The applicant brought this application alleging contempt of the decree in HCCS No. 57 of 2017.

Issues

  1. Whether the Respondents are in contempt of court.
  2. Whether the Applicant is entitled to the reliefs and prayers sought.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Contempt of Court — Conflicting Court Orders of Equal Jurisdiction
Where two conflicting orders exist from courts of equal jurisdiction, a party acting in compliance with one order cannot be found in contempt of the other pending resolution of the conflict by a superior court.
Contempt of Court — Pending Appeal
A party cannot be found in contempt of a court order that is subject to a pending appeal before a superior court, as the parties should await determination of the appeal.
Contempt of Court — Knowledge of Order
Parties who were not parties to the original suit in which the order was made cannot be found in contempt of that order as they could not have been aware of it.
Contempt of Court — Elements
To establish contempt of court, an applicant must prove the existence of a lawful order, the potential contemnor's knowledge of the order, and the potential contemnor's failure to comply with the order.

Legislation cited (3)

Cases cited (3)

  • Hon Sitenda Sebalu v The Secretary General of the East African Community (Reference No. 8 of 2012)
  • Uganda Super League v Attorney General (Constitutional Application No. 73 of 2023)
  • Jack Erasmus Nsangiranabo v Col Kaka Bagyenda & Attorney General (Miscellaneous Application No. 671 of 2019)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Jomayi_Property_Consultants_Limited_v_Bulamu_and_4_Others_(Miscellaneous_Application_180_of_2021)_[2022]_UGHCLD_285_(9_March_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.