Wakilii

Katarikawe Mary Salom v Kanakulya Musa and Others (Civil Miscellaneous Application 636 of 2026)

Court of Appeal · [2026] UGCA 164 · 2026 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application by notice of motion for stay of execution pending the hearing and determination of a pending civil appeal
Decision
Application for stay of execution dismissed; Respondents at liberty to execute for taxed costs

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Holding

The applicant sought to stay execution of a taxed-costs decree of UGX 7,970,000 (recoverable by her arrest) pending her appeal against a High Court finding that the trial magistrate lacked pecuniary jurisdiction. Sitting as a single Judge, the Court held that although the jurisdiction point was legally arguable, the applicant showed no strong likelihood of success because she was bound by pleadings valuing the land at UGX 64,000,000. As the decree was monetary and refundable, execution would not render the appeal nugatory; inability to pay and possible committal were insufficient. The balance of convenience favoured the respondents, who were entitled to their costs. The application was dismissed.

Outcome

Application for stay of execution dismissed; Respondents at liberty to execute for taxed costs

Facts

The applicant sued the respondents in Civil Suit No. 002 of 2020 in the Magistrate's Court at Mpigi over land, obtaining judgment in her favour. On appeal in High Court Civil Appeal No. 17 of 2023, Hon. Justice Anthony Oyuko Ojok set aside that decision, holding the trial magistrate had no jurisdiction because the plaint pleaded two acres of land purchased at UGX 64,000,000, exceeding a Magistrate Grade One's pecuniary jurisdiction. The applicant appealed to the Court of Appeal in Civil Appeal No. 368 of 2025. Following the High Court decision, the respondents commenced execution to recover UGX 7,970,000 in taxed costs by way of arrest of the applicant as judgment debtor. After the High Court refused a stay, the applicant, an elderly widow stating she had no means to pay and only a single plot of land, applied to the Court of Appeal to stay execution pending her appeal.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant satisfied the conditions for the grant of a stay of execution pending the determination of her appeal.

Orders

  • The application for stay of execution is dismissed.
  • The Respondents are at liberty to proceed with execution for recovery of the taxed costs in High Court Civil Appeal No. 17 of 2023.
  • Costs of this application to be in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution Pending Appeal — Conditions
An applicant for a stay of execution pending appeal must establish a pending appeal with good chances of success or an arguable prima facie case, that irreparable damage will be suffered or the appeal rendered nugatory unless a stay is granted, and, where the first two conditions are not clearly established, that the balance of convenience favours the applicant, the application having been brought without unreasonable delay.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Monetary Decrees — Nugatory Test
Execution of a monetary decree does not ordinarily render an appeal nugatory because money paid can be refunded if the appeal succeeds; a stay will be refused unless the applicant proves that repayment would be impossible or that exceptional circumstances exist.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Inability to Pay and Risk of Committal
An applicant's lack of means to satisfy a monetary decree, and the prospect of committal to civil prison, amount to hardship but are not by themselves sufficient grounds to stay execution of a monetary decree.
Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Parties Bound by Their Pleadings
A party is generally bound by its pleadings and cannot found a case on matters materially different from what was pleaded unless the pleadings are amended, so that a likelihood of success on appeal is weakened where the contention advanced departs from the pleaded case.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Security for Due Performance
Where an applicant for a stay of a monetary decree fails to deposit security and asserts an inability to satisfy the decree, that evidence reinforces the respondent's concern about recovery and supports refusal of the stay rather than the grant of a conditional one.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (7)

Full judgment

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Katarikawe Mary Salom v Kanakulya Musa and Others (Civil Miscellaneous Application 636 of 2026) [2026] UGCA 164 (22 April 2026)
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.