Wakilii

Katerega v Commissioner Land Registration & Ors (Miscellaneous Application No. 347 of 2013)

High Court · [2013] UGHCLD 83 · 2013 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for temporary injunction arising from Civil Suit No. 181 of 2013
Decision
Application dismissed; applicant bound by earlier judgment in rem that cancelled his certificate of title

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that a judgment in rem that cancels and revokes certificates of title binds all persons interested in the land, including third parties not party to the suit. An applicant whose certificate of title was cancelled by court order cannot seek a temporary injunction over the same land under the cancelled title, as he discloses no cause of action and fails to establish a prima facie case. Application dismissed.

Outcome

Application dismissed; applicant bound by earlier judgment in rem that cancelled his certificate of title

Facts

The applicant sought a temporary injunction to restrain the respondents from dealing with land comprised in Busiro Block 380 Plot 18, measuring 1.680 hectares, pending determination of the main suit. The applicant's certificate of title had been cancelled and revoked by the High Court in Civil Suit No. 85 of 2005, Patrick Lwanga v Edward Zimula & the Commissioner for Land Registration, which ordered cancellation of all titles carved out of Busiro Block 380 Plot 1 and restored the land as trust land. The applicant was not a party to Civil Suit No. 85 of 2005 but conceded in his plaint that his title was cancelled, though he contended the order was erroneous. The respondents raised a preliminary objection that the applicant had no interest in the suit land and could not competently bring the application under a cancelled title.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant has legal standing to seek a temporary injunction over land comprised in a certificate of title that was cancelled and revoked by a prior court judgment.
  2. Whether a judgment in rem binds third parties who were not parties to the original suit.
  3. Whether a consent judgment operates as a judgment in rem and binds third parties.
  4. Whether an applicant whose title was cancelled by court order has a cause of action to seek injunctive relief over the same land.

Orders

  • Application for temporary injunction dismissed.
  • Costs of the application awarded to the respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Land & Property — Judgments in rem — Effect on third parties not party to the suit
A judgment in rem that determines the rights of persons in respect of land and affects the status of the land by cancelling and revoking titles binds all persons interested in the land, including third parties who were not parties to the suit, and they are estopped from averring that the status of the property or the rights to title are other than what the court declared.
Civil Procedure — Consent judgments — Status as judgments of the court — Binding effect
A consent judgment, once it receives the sanction of the court, becomes a judgment of the court and operates as an adjudication between the parties. Where such a judgment affects property and operates on the property itself, it amounts to a judgment in rem and binds all persons interested in the property, notwithstanding that they were not privy to the consent agreement.
Civil Procedure — Review of judgments — Standing of third parties — Order 46 rule 1 CPR
Order 46 rule 1 CPR permits any person considering himself aggrieved by a decree or order to apply for review, including third parties with interest in the subject matter of the suit, provided the aggrieved person demonstrates that he has suffered legal grievance.
Civil Procedure — Temporary injunctions — Cause of action — Requirement to establish prima facie case
An applicant seeking a temporary injunction under a certificate of title that has been cancelled and revoked by court order discloses no cause of action and fails to establish a prima facie case with a reasonable chance of success, as he cannot claim under a cancelled and non-existent title.
Civil Procedure — Temporary injunctions — Irreparable loss — Balance of convenience
Where an applicant's certificate of title has been cancelled by court order, he cannot suffer irreparable loss by refusing a temporary injunction, as one cannot lose what one does not have, and the question of balance of convenience does not arise.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (9)

  • Saroji Gandesha v Transroad Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 13 of 2009)
  • Caroline Turyatemba and 4 Others v Attorney General and Uganda Land Commission (Constitutional Petition No. 15 of 2006)
  • Eleko Balume & 2 Others v Goodman Agencies Ltd and 2 Others (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 12 of 2012)
  • Patrick Lwanga v Edward Zimula & the Commissioner for Land Registration (Civil Suit No. 85 of 2005)
  • Nicholas Francois Marteemns & Others v. South African National Parks, Case No. 0117
  • Adonia v Mutekanga [1970] EA 429
  • Mohamed Albhai v E.E Bukenya (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 56 of 1996)
  • In Re Theresa Kaddu [1987] HCB 115
  • SCOUL v Muhamud Tejan (High Court Civil Suit No. 39 of 1993)

Full judgment

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Katerega v Commissioner Land Registration & Ors (Miscellaneous Application No. 347 of 2013) [2013] UGHCLD 83 (14 November 2013)
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.