Wakilii

Kadara v Alituha (Civil Appeal No. 97 of 2012)

Court of Appeal · [2021] UGCA 104 · 2021 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Second appeal from a decision of the High Court sitting in its appellate jurisdiction on appeal from the Hoima District Land Tribunal
Decision
Appeal dismissed; High Court judgment and orders confirmed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

On a second appeal in a land dispute originating from the Hoima District Land Tribunal, the Court of Appeal held that the Tribunal's judgment was delivered within its lifetime and so it had jurisdiction, even though the decree was signed shortly after the transition under Legal Notice No. 20 of 2006. The court found the first appellate judge had duly re-evaluated the evidence, albeit in summary form, and was correct to treat the counterclaim as excluded since it was not relied on. The allegations of bias were not particularised and a reasonable person would not apprehend bias. All grounds failed and the appeal was dismissed with costs.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed; High Court judgment and orders confirmed

Facts

The dispute concerned land at Hoima. The appellant claimed his late father invited the respondent's late father to settle on the suit land, and that the respondent's family later shifted a boundary marked by a barbed wire fence and encroached on the appellant's land. The respondent contended he was a lawful occupant for some 30 years, that the two fathers were brothers given separate land by a common ancestor with demarcated boundaries, and that the fence merely prevented his animals from straying. The respondent counterclaimed for a declaration of ownership and a permanent injunction. The Hoima District Land Tribunal found the appellant had not proved his case and entered findings against him, including in relation to trespass arising from the appellant fencing and destroying crops in 2003. The appellant's appeal to the High Court at Masindi was dismissed, prompting this second appeal raising jurisdiction of the Tribunal, the treatment of the counterclaim, unpleaded orders, and bias.

Issues

  1. Whether the District Land Tribunal had jurisdiction to determine the land dispute given the alleged expiry of its members' terms and the transition under Legal Notice No. 20 of 2006.
  2. Whether the first appellate judge failed to adequately re-evaluate the evidence and erred in his treatment of the counterclaim.
  3. Whether the Tribunal's award of unpleaded or unproved orders ought to have been set aside on appeal.
  4. Whether the Tribunal was biased so as to deny the appellant a fair hearing.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Judgment of the High Court upheld and the orders made therein confirmed.
  • Costs of the appeal to be borne by the appellant.

Rules and key headnotes

Land & Property — District Land Tribunals — Jurisdiction During Transition Under Legal Notice No. 20 of 2006
Where a District Land Tribunal heard and delivered judgment in a land dispute within the lifetime of the Tribunal, it had jurisdiction notwithstanding that the decree disposing of the matter was signed shortly after the transition to magistrates under Legal Notice No. 20 of 2006.
Civil Procedure — Counterclaims — Exclusion and Effect Where Parties Proceed As If No Counterclaim
A Tribunal may in its discretion exclude a counterclaim from proceedings, and where the evidence is not evaluated against the counterclaim a formal order purporting to allow it does not establish that the counterclaim was a live issue determined on the merits.
Civil Procedure — First and Second Appeals — Duty to Re-evaluate Evidence and Give Reasons
A first appellate court must re-evaluate the evidence and reach its own conclusions, giving reasons for its findings; adjudication of grounds in summary form is sufficient provided material issues are addressed, and a second appellate court will interfere only where there was no evidence to support findings of fact.
Administrative Law — Bias — Test of Real Likelihood Apprehended by a Reasonable Observer
Allegations of bias must be particularised; the test is whether a reasonable, objective and informed person acting on correct facts would apprehend a real likelihood of bias, and mere flimsy or elusive suspicions will not suffice.

Legislation cited (13)

Cases cited (10)

  • Kifamunte Henry v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 10 of 1997)
  • R v Hassan bin Said (1942) 9 EACA 62
  • General Company Limited vs Patel [1958] EA702
  • Coghlan vs. Cumberland (1898) 1 Ch. 704
  • Begumisa v Tiberaga (Civil Appeal No. 17 of 2004)
  • Bogere Moses and Another v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 1 of 1997)
  • GM Combined v A.K Detergents and Others (Civil Appeal No. 7 of 1998)
  • Professor Isaac Newton Ojok v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 33 of 1999)
  • In Re an Application for recusal of Hon. Justice Owiny Dollo CJ (Miscellaneous Application No. 3 of 2021)
  • Metropolitan Properties vs Lannon [1969] 1 QB 577

Full judgment

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

Kadara v Alituha (Civil Appeal No. 97 of 2012) [2021] UGCA 104 (12 October 2021)
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.