Wakilii

Kayondo and 24 Others v National Forestry Authority (Miscellaneous Application 63 of 2023)

High Court · [2023] UGHCCD 318 · 2023 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to amend plaint arising from High Court Civil Suit No. 046 of 2020
Decision
Application granted; leave given to amend plaint and add new parties; matter to proceed with amended pleadings

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that leave to amend the plaint should be granted where the amendment will enable the court to determine the real questions in controversy between the parties, avoid multiplicity of proceedings, and is not prohibited by law or made mala fide. The court allowed the applicants to amend their plaint to add five new plaintiffs who had similar interests and were affected by the same eviction, and to plead additional material facts and evidence essential to determination of the underlying suit.

Outcome

Application granted; leave given to amend plaint and add new parties; matter to proceed with amended pleadings

Facts

The applicants filed a representative suit in 2020 claiming they were bona fide occupants on land comprised in Bwasese Forest Reserve Block 194, Plot 1 at Kasunga, part of Matiri Central Forest Reserve created in 1962. Disputes arose over the reserve boundaries in 2005 and 2009. On 25 July 2014, the plaintiffs were evicted from the suit land through a court order with destruction of their properties. The applicants sought a declaration that they were bona fide occupants, that the defendant was a trespasser, and damages. Subsequently, the applicants discovered that five persons who had similar interests and were affected by the eviction were omitted from the plaint. Some applicants had purchased land from these omitted persons, while others were tenants on their land. The applicants also identified material facts, particulars, and evidence that were not captured in the original plaint and sought leave to amend to include the new parties and additional facts.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants should be granted leave to amend the plaint.
  2. What remedies are available to the applicants.

Orders

  • Leave granted to the plaintiffs to amend their plaint and include Mwesige Dennis, Kaahwa Christopher, Guma Richard Muhidi, Kyomuhendo Robert and Baguma Julius as applicants.
  • The amendment shall be restricted to the original cause of action against the defendant.
  • The applicants shall file and serve the amended plaint within 5 days from the date of this ruling.
  • The defendant shall file an amended Written Statement of Defense if any within 7 days after service.
  • Each party shall bear own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Principles for Exercise of Discretion
Courts may allow amendment of pleadings at any stage of proceedings to enable determination of the real questions in controversy between the parties. Amendment should be granted where it does not work injustice that cannot be compensated by costs, avoids multiplicity of proceedings, is not made mala fide, and is not prohibited by law.
Civil Procedure — Joinder of Parties — Addition of Necessary Parties
The court may at any stage order that persons who ought to have been joined as parties, or whose presence is necessary to enable the court to effectually and completely adjudicate upon and settle all questions involved in the suit, be added as parties. A party may be joined not because there is a cause of action against them, but because their presence is necessary for complete adjudication.
Civil Procedure — Amendment at Early Stages — Liberal Approach
Where a case is still at its initial stages and the proposed amendment will aid the court in reaching a fair decision without prejudice to the other party, it is in the interests of justice to allow the amendment to enable the court to resolve all questions in controversy and avoid multiplicity of proceedings.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (6)

Full judgment

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

Kayondo and 24 Others v National Forestry Authority (Miscellaneous Application 63 of 2023) [2023] UGHCCD 318 (13 October 2023)
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.