Wakilii

Kaweesi Gerald Kamya v Kakise Fish Co. Limited (Miscellaneous Application No. 546 of 2025)

High Court · [2025] UGCOMMC 171 · 2025 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to amend written statement of defence in pending civil suit
Decision
Application for leave to amend defence dismissed with costs to the respondent

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court dismissed the application for leave to amend the written statement of defence. The proposed amendment sought to recharacterise the transaction from a purchase and sale agreement into a joint venture, which would constitute a substantial departure from the original defence and alter the cause of action. The court held that the contract's clear language established a buyer-seller relationship, not a joint venture, and allowing the amendment would work an injustice on the respondent and constitute an abuse of process.

Outcome

Application for leave to amend defence dismissed with costs to the respondent

Facts

The applicant sought leave to amend his written statement of defence in a pending civil suit arising from a purchase and sale agreement dated 17 December 2020 for fishing gears valued at UGX 227,150,000. The applicant claimed his previous lawyers had distorted the facts and that the transaction was actually a joint venture where the respondent contributed fishing gear and the applicant was to sell them with proceeds shared between the parties. The respondent opposed, arguing the agreement clearly established a purchase and sale transaction with defined payment terms. The main suit had been dismissed for want of prosecution on 23 February 2022 and reinstated on 20 July 2023. Witness statements had already been filed in the main suit.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant has shown grounds entitling him to be granted leave to amend his Written Statement of Defense in the main suit?

Orders

  • The Application is dismissed.
  • The Applicant shall pay the costs of this application.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Principles Governing Exercise of Discretion
The court has discretionary power under Order 6 Rule 19 of the Civil Procedure Rules to allow amendment of pleadings at any stage of proceedings to determine the real questions in controversy between the parties, but this discretion must not be used to allow substitution of one cause of action for another or change an action into one of a substantially different character.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Departure from Original Pleadings
Parties are bound to their pleadings throughout the course of litigation and cannot depart from their pleadings. An amendment that has the effect of entirely altering the defence and creating a new defence whilst altering the cause of action constitutes an impermissible departure from the original pleadings.
Contract Law — Contractual Interpretation — Intention of Parties
In contractual interpretation, courts should first have recourse to the contract itself. The doctrine of sanctity of contract directs that a court cannot intervene and substitute any other interpretation of the contractual intentions of the parties, but must give effect to only what the parties have themselves contracted to do. If the words used in the agreement are clear, they should be construed in their ordinary meaning so as to establish the intention of the parties.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Bad Faith and Injustice
An application to amend pleadings must be made bona fide and in good faith. Where witness statements have already been filed and the proposed amendment would cause injustice to the other party by fundamentally altering the nature of the dispute, the application may be dismissed as being in bad faith and an abuse of court process.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (16)

  • Charles Kamudda v F. X. Mubuuke (Miscellaneous Application No. 230 of 2022)
  • Tushabe Chris v Cooperative Bank Limited (in Liquidation) (Civil Application No. 08 of 2018)
  • Mulowoza Brothers Ltd v N. Shah & Co. Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 26 of 2010)
  • Gaso Transport Services (Bus) Ltd v Martin Adala Obene [1990-1994] EA 88
  • Eastern Bakery v Castelino [1958] 1 EA 461
  • Nicholas Sserunkuma Ssewagudde & 2 Others v Namasole Namusoke Namatovu Veronica (Miscellaneous Application No. 1307 of 2016)
  • Jani Properties Ltd v Dar-es-salaam City Council [1966] EA 281
  • Struggle Ltd v Pan African Insurance Co. Ltd [1990] ALR 46
  • Space Marketing Uganda Limited v Equifax Uganda Limited and others (Miscellaneous Application No. 969 of 2020)
  • Soft Sheen Carson v William Fugar [2014] 79 GMJ 162 CA
  • Senyonga v Kakoza (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 9 of 1990)
  • Jiwaji v Jiwaji [1968] EA 547
  • Lulume v C.M. Board [1970] EA 155
  • Savings and Loans (Kenya) Limited v Mayfair Holdings Limited [2012] eKLR
  • Johnson Akol Omunyokol v Attorney General, Application No. 3 of 2016(Arising from Reference No. 1 of 2015) East African Court of Justice
  • Sarah Nyakato v Lin Jeng Liang aka Lin Jeff and 5 Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 216 of 2022)

Full judgment

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

Kaweesi Gerald Kamya v Kakise Fish Co. Limited (Miscellaneous Application No. 546 of 2025) [2025] UGCommC 171 (7 May 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.