Wakilii

Kibira v Nampewo & 2 Others (Civil Suit 63 of 2019)

High Court · [2024] UGHCLD 70 · 2024 Preliminary Objection Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ruling on preliminary objection raised by defendants opposing plaintiff's prayer for appointment of administrators pendente lite following death of first defendant during suit proceedings
Decision
Preliminary objection dismissed; plaintiff may proceed to apply for appointment of administrators pendente lite

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that where a party to ongoing civil proceedings dies before letters of administration are granted, and the executor or entitled person is unable or unwilling to act, letters of administration limited to the suit may be granted under section 222 of the Succession Act. The court overruled the defendants' preliminary objection and found grounds existed for the plaintiff to bring an application for appointment of administrators pendente lite to enable the suit to proceed.

Outcome

Preliminary objection dismissed; plaintiff may proceed to apply for appointment of administrators pendente lite

Facts

The plaintiff brought an action for recovery of land against three defendants. The suit land was registered in the names of the 2nd and 3rd defendants. During the pendency of the suit, the 1st defendant passed away. The plaintiff claimed to have started purchasing the suit land in 1996 and was already in occupation when the 2nd and 3rd defendants were registered on the land in 2000. The plaintiff alleged the 1st defendant transferred the land to the 2nd and 3rd defendants despite having already sold it to the plaintiff. The process for applying for letters of administration for the 1st defendant's estate was incomplete. The 2nd defendant was a grandson and the 3rd defendant was a daughter-in-law of the deceased 1st defendant. The plaintiff sought to have the 2nd and 3rd defendants appointed as administrators pendente lite to enable the suit to proceed. The defendants raised a preliminary objection to this prayer.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiff's prayer to have the 2nd and 3rd defendants appointed administrators pendente lite for the estate of the 1st defendant can be sustained.

Orders

  • Preliminary objection raised by counsel for the 2nd and 3rd defendants overruled.
  • Objection dismissed.
  • No orders as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Letters of Administration — Grant Pendente Lite — Conditions for Appointment
Where it is necessary that the representative of a deceased person be made party to a pending suit, and the executor or person entitled to administration is unable or unwilling to act, letters of administration limited to the suit may be granted under section 222 of the Succession Act to enable the suit to proceed.
Letters of Administration — Grant Pendente Lite — Scope and Purpose
A grant of letters of administration pendente lite is limited for the purpose of filing, prosecuting, or defending a suit, and confers no powers on the grantee to distribute or otherwise deal with the estate under the grant.
Death of Party — Continuation of Suit — Appointment of Administrators Pendente Lite
To ensure substantive justice is administered where a suit is in its preliminary stages and one party has died but the process of acquiring letters of administration has not been completed, the court may permit an application for appointment of administrators pendente lite to allow the suit to proceed.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Succession Act cap.230 s.222

Cases cited (1)

  • Okway John Kimbo v Oddia Nuru & Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 39 of 2016)

Full judgment

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

Kibira_v_Nampewo_&_2_Others_(Civil_Suit_63_of_2019)_[2024]_UGHCLD_70_(12_March_2024)
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.