Wakilii

Julies' Spoon International Ltd v Hermion Uganda Limited and Others (Civil Suit No. 239 of 2022)

High Court · [2025] UGHCCD 174 · 2025 Judgment for Defendant (Counterclaim Allowed) AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit with counterclaim; plaintiff's suit struck out for failure to lead evidence; counterclaim proceeded to judgment
Decision
Counter defendant declared a trespasser and ordered evicted; plaintiff's suit struck out for failure to lead evidence

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 1 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

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.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 1 time with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

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

The court held that the counter defendant was a trespasser on the suit premises. The purported goodwill agreement transferring tenancy from the second defendant to the counter defendant was invalid because it lacked the prior written consent of the landlord as required by the tenancy agreement. The landlord's acceptance of rent payments did not constitute ratification of the assignment where the landlord did not know the payments came from the counter defendant. The counter defendant erected permanent structures in breach of the tenancy agreement and without the landlord's consent. The court awarded special damages for unpaid rent from the date of the temporary injunction, general damages for the illegal structures, and ordered eviction.

Outcome

Counter defendant declared a trespasser and ordered evicted; plaintiff's suit struck out for failure to lead evidence

Facts

Hermion Uganda Limited (counter claimant) owned Plot 86 Kira Road and leased it to Elegant Washing Bay Ltd (second defendant) for two years from August 2020. Elegant Washing Bay struggled with rent and introduced Julies' Spoon International Ltd (plaintiff/counter defendant) to take over the tenancy through a goodwill arrangement. The counter defendant paid UGX 210 million to the second defendant and took possession, paying rent to the counter claimant until August 2022. When the tenancy expired, the counter claimant demanded vacant possession. The counter defendant refused, claiming entitlement to compensation for permanent structures it had erected on the premises. The counter defendant filed suit seeking declarations of legitimate occupancy and compensation. The counter claimant filed a counterclaim seeking eviction, declaring the counter defendant a trespasser, and claiming damages. The plaintiff's suit was struck out for failure to lead evidence. The counterclaim proceeded to judgment.

Issues

  1. Whether the counter claimant has a cause of action against the counter defendant.
  2. Whether the counter claimant is entitled to the remedies sought.

Orders

  • The counter defendant is a trespasser on the suit land and an order doth issue evicting the counter defendant from the suit property.
  • Special damages of UGX 8,000,000 per month being the value of monthly rent for the premises, from 23rd March 2023 till the date of eviction, are awarded.
  • The counter claimant is awarded UGX 20,000,000 as general damages.
  • The counter claimant is awarded interest on the special damages and general damages at a rate of 8% per annum from the date of this judgment until payment in full.
  • A permanent injunction doth issue restraining the counter defendant or its representatives and agents from trespassing onto the suit premises.
  • The counter claimant is awarded the costs of the suit.

Rules and key headnotes

Landlord and Tenant — Assignment of Tenancy — Requirement for Prior Written Consent
Where a tenancy agreement expressly prohibits assignment or subletting without the prior written consent of the landlord, an attempted assignment without such consent is invalid and does not create a tenancy relationship between the landlord and the purported assignee.
Contract Formation — Ratification — Acceptance of Rent Payments
A landlord's acceptance of rent payments does not constitute ratification of an unauthorized assignment of tenancy where the landlord did not know the payments came from the purported assignee and reasonably believed they came from the original tenant.
Trespass to Land — Elements — Absence of Contractual Relationship
In the absence of a valid contractual relationship between a party and the landowner, occupation of the land without the landowner's consent constitutes trespass, regardless of whether the occupier believed they had a right to occupy.
Landlord and Tenant — Renewal of Tenancy — Requirement for Notice
Where a tenancy agreement provides that renewal is conditional upon the tenant notifying the landlord in writing of its intention to renew, the tenancy terminates automatically upon expiry if no such notice is given, and the landlord is entitled to demand vacant possession.
Landlord and Tenant — Permanent Structures — Compensation for Trespasser
A trespasser who erects permanent structures on land without the landowner's consent is not entitled to compensation for those structures, and the erection of such structures may give rise to a claim for general damages by the landowner.
Special Damages — Lost Rent — Calculation from Date of Court Order
Where a court issues a temporary injunction restraining eviction and orders the occupier to continue paying rent, special damages for unpaid rent are properly calculated from the date of that order until disposal of the suit, at the monthly rental rate established in the original tenancy agreement.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (10)

  • Justine E.M. Lutaya v. Stirling Civil Engineering Co. Ltd
  • Sophie Nakitende v Mabu Commodities Ltd (Civil Suit No. 117 of 2016)
  • Justine E.M. Lutaaya v Stirling Civil Engineering Company Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 11 of 2002)
  • Sheikh Mohammed Lubowa v Kitara Enterprises Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 4 of 1982)
  • Uganda Commercial Bank v Kigozi [2002] 1 EA 305
  • Alaka & Co. Advocates v. Metropolitan Properties Ltd
  • Power and City Contractors Ltd v. LTL Projects (PVT) Ltd
  • Mugambe v Kayita and Another (Civil Suit No. 339 of 2020)
  • Kakubhai Mohanlal v Warid Telecom Uganda (Civil Suit No. 224 of 2011)
  • Kwizera v Attorney General (Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 2008)

Cases citing this judgment (1)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

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

Julies' Spoon International Ltd v Hermion Uganda Limited and Others (Civil Suit No. 239 of 2022) [2025] UGHCCD 174 (13 October 2025)
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.