Wakilii

Kakuliremu Leonia and Byaruhanga Nyakimu v Rwenzori Commodities and Bwirinda Alozio and Kiiza Lawrence (HCT-01-CV-MA-0098-2024) 2025 UGHC 277 (2025-04-25)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 277 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for review and setting aside of a consent judgment entered in Civil Suit No. 28 of 2008 arising from a representative suit.
Decision
Application for review dismissed; consent judgment in Civil Suit No. 28 of 2008 remains in force.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court dismissed the application for review of a consent judgment. It held that the applicants were party to and authorized the representative suit through which the consent judgment was entered, as evidenced by their signatures and thumbprints on the list of claimants. The applicants' claim they were never party to the suit was false. The earlier ruling in Miscellaneous Application No. 42 of 2019 had determined the binding nature of the consent on represented parties. The court struck out paragraphs of the applicants' affidavits containing falsehoods and found no error apparent on record or discovery of new evidence warranting review.

Outcome

Application for review dismissed; consent judgment in Civil Suit No. 28 of 2008 remains in force.

Facts

The applicants sought review of a consent judgment entered in Civil Suit No. 28 of 2008. In that suit, the 2nd and 3rd respondents obtained leave to file a representative suit on behalf of 38 bonafide occupants of land, including the applicants. A list of claimants bearing the applicants' signatures/thumbprints was attached to the application for leave. Notice of the representative suit was published in newspapers listing the applicants. On 21 November 2017, parties entered a consent judgment compensating all claimants. The applicants now claimed they were never party to the suit, never authorized representation, and were not compensated. The 1st respondent produced documentary evidence showing the applicants' signatures on the original list of claimants and that they had been compensated. An earlier ruling in Miscellaneous Application No. 42 of 2019 had held the consent valid and enforceable against all represented parties.

Issues

  1. Whether the Application is incompetent because the Applicants sued a wrong party.
  2. Whether the instant Application is res judicata.
  3. Whether the Affidavits in Support of the Application should be struck out for containing falsehoods.
  4. Whether the Application raises sufficient grounds for review and setting aside the consent judgement in Civil Suit No. 28 of 2008.

Orders

  • Application dismissed against the 2nd and 3rd Respondents for non-service with no orders as to costs.
  • Preliminary objection that Applicants sued a wrong party overruled.
  • Preliminary objection that the Application is res judicata overruled.
  • Paragraphs 5, 6, and 8 of the 1st Applicant's Affidavit in Support struck out for containing falsehoods.
  • Paragraphs 6, 7, and 9 of the 2nd Applicant's Affidavit in Support struck out for containing falsehoods.
  • Application dismissed with costs to the 1st Respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Review of Judgment — Grounds for Review — Error Apparent on Face of Record
An error or mistake is only apparent on the face of the record and becomes a valid ground for review if it is manifest, self-evident and requires no examination or argument for it to be established.
Representative Suits — Binding Effect — Authority of Representatives
Once a representative order is lawfully obtained, the court is not required to go behind it and inquire how it was obtained. It is sufficient that the representatives had authority to bind the rest of the plaintiffs in any judgment or decision made on their behalf.
Consent Judgments — Setting Aside — Grounds
A consent judgment once endorsed by the court becomes binding on all parties who are estopped from asserting positions different from the stipulated agreement. Such a decree must be upheld unless vitiated by fraud, mistake, misapprehension or contravention of court policy.
Service of Process — Affidavit of Service — Effect of Non-Service
Proof of service is by way of affidavit of service. In the absence of such affidavit, a court cannot assume jurisdiction over a party. Non-service of court process renders proceedings against that party incompetent.
Res Judicata — Application — Same Parties and Subject Matter
No court shall try any suit or issue in which the matter directly and substantially in issue has been directly and substantially in issue in a former suit between the same parties or parties under whom they claim, and has been heard and finally decided by a competent court.
Affidavits — Striking Out for Falsehoods — Partial Expunction
Where an affidavit contains falsehoods, only the offensive parts should be expunged and the good parts saved and relied upon. A court need not strike out the entire affidavit where only certain paragraphs contain false statements.
Misnomer — Parties — Effect on Suit — Curability
The failure to describe a party properly in the heading of pleadings is immaterial where the substance of the pleadings and annextures clearly demonstrate the party intended to be sued. Equity treats intent over form.

Legislation cited (15)

Cases cited (12)

  • Edison Kanyabwera v Pastori Tumwebaze (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 6 of 2024)
  • Ismail Surji Hiran vs. Nurali Esmail Kassam [1952] EA 131
  • Attorney General and Uganda Land Commission v James Mark Kamoga and Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 8 of 2004)
  • Wasswa Primo v Moulders (U) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 685 of 2017)
  • Rutuku Francis and 5 Others v Eliphas Ndamagye (Court of Appeal No. 111 of 2017)
  • Kabagembe Grace and Another v Mbabazi Resty and Another (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 02 of 2022)
  • Uganda Telecom Ltd v ZTE Corporation (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 3 of 2017)
  • Ponsiano Semakula vs. Susane Magala & others (1993) KALR 213
  • FX Mubwike v U.E.B (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 98 of 2008)
  • Batuk K. Vyas versus Surat Municipality AIR (1953) Bom 133
  • Hon. Kipoi Tonny v Ronny Waluku Wetaka (Election Petition Appeal No. 7 of 2011)
  • Col. Kiiza Besigye v Y.K Museveni (Election Petition No. 1 of 2001)

Full judgment

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

Kakuliremu Leonia and Byaruhanga Nyakimu v Rwenzori Commodities and Bwirinda Alozio and Kiiza Lawrence (HCT-01-CV-MA-0098-2024) 2025 UGHC 277 (2025-04-25)
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.