Wakilii

Kinene and Another v Kaggwa and 3 Others (Civil Suit 258 of 2016)

High Court · [2023] UGHCFD 91 · 2023 Judgment for Defendants AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit seeking revocation of letters of administration
Decision
Suit dismissed with direction to defendants to finalise estate distribution and file inventory within six months

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Court held that the plaintiff's exclusion from estate administration was irregular and unfair (no hearing given) but not fraudulent, as majority of beneficiaries approved the substitution and his brother replaced him. Plaintiff intermeddled with the estate by selling portions before letters of administration were granted, though other beneficiaries including defendants also intermeddled. Defendants did not mismanage the estate; they obtained certificates of title and distributed land to beneficiaries. Suit dismissed with each party bearing own costs.

Outcome

Suit dismissed with direction to defendants to finalise estate distribution and file inventory within six months

Facts

The plaintiffs and defendants are grandchildren of the late Samwiri Lwanga Bawakana who died testate in 1958. On 6 January 2011, beneficiaries elected the 1st plaintiff, 2nd plaintiff, and three defendants to obtain a certificate of no objection for estate administration. At a subsequent meeting on 7 August 2011, beneficiaries resolved to replace the 1st plaintiff with the 4th defendant; the 1st plaintiff was not notified of this meeting and was given no hearing. The defendants obtained letters of administration on 26 June 2014 without the 1st plaintiff. Before the grant, the plaintiff sold portions of the estate land to various buyers in January and February 2014. The 2nd and 4th defendants also sold estate land before the grant. The deceased's will entrusted land to three children as kibanja holders; the estate was distributed to beneficiaries based on what the deceased's late children had occupied.

Issues

  1. Whether or not the exclusion of the 1st plaintiff from the administration of the estate of the late Samwiri Lwanga Bawakana was fraudulent?
  2. Whether the plaintiff has intermeddled with the estate of the late Samwiri Lwanga Bawakana?
  3. Whether the defendants have mismanaged the estate?
  4. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

  • The exclusion of the 1st plaintiff from the administration of the estate of the late Samwiri Lwanga Bawakana was not fraudulent.
  • The plaintiff and other beneficiaries intermeddled with the estate of the late Samwiri Lwanga Bawakana.
  • The defendants as administrators have not mismanaged the estate of the deceased.
  • The defendants shall finalise the distribution of the estate of the late Samwiri Lwanga Bawakana and file an inventory within six months from the day of this Judgment failure of which the letters of administration shall automatically lapse.
  • The suit is dismissed.
  • Each party shall bear their own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Administration of Estates — Fraud — Pleading and Proof Requirements
Where fraud is alleged, there must be a clear and distinct allegation of fraud in the pleadings with particulars stated on the face of the pleading. It is not sufficient to leave fraud to be inferred from facts pleaded. Fraudulent conduct must be distinctly alleged and distinctly proved to a standard higher than a mere balance of probabilities but not beyond reasonable doubt.
Administrator General — Natural Justice — Duty to Give Hearing Before Removal
Where the Administrator General removes a person from the list of would-be administrators after initial appointment, natural justice requires that the person be accorded a hearing before removal, regardless of the reasons for removal. Failure to give a hearing renders the removal irregular and unfair.
Administration of Estates — Grant of Administration — Equal Entitlement of Persons in Equal Degree of Kindred
Those who stand in equal degree of kindred to the deceased are equally entitled to administration. Where there are two or more persons entitled to the same proportion of the estate, a grant may be made to any one or some of them without citation of the others. Choice of administrator should be based on the interests of beneficiaries rather than personalities, and administration should not be delayed by disagreements where beneficiaries have agreed on a substitute administrator.
Intermeddling with Estate — Definition and Scope
A person is taken to intermeddle with the estate of a deceased person where that person, while not being the Administrator General, an agent of the Administrator General, or a person to whom probate or letters of administration have been granted, takes possession or disposes of the property of a deceased person or does any other act which belongs to the office of executor or administrator. Intermeddling includes assuming authority to administer the estate when a person does not have such authority.
Intermeddling with Estate — Sale of Estate Property Before Grant — Effect of Testator's Will Declaring Existing Settlement
Where a testator's will is declaratory of existing settlement arrangements, stating that children stay where they have already settled as kibanja owners, the descendants of those children are only entitled to what their parents were settling on. Where boundaries were known based on parental settlement before letters of administration were procured, sale of land by beneficiaries within their known boundaries before the grant, while constituting intermeddling, occurs in a context where the letters of administration were secured primarily for registration of interests already known.
Administration of Estates — Role and Duties of Administrator — Distribution of Estate
An administrator of a deceased person is his or her legal representative for all purposes, and all property of the deceased vests in the administrator. Once the beneficial interest passes, all assets are held by the administrator on bare trust for the beneficiaries. The administrator's role is merely distribution and the administrator is under a legal duty to account for the assets, distribute them to beneficiaries, and wind up the affairs of the estate.
Costs — Discretion of Court — Family Disputes and Estate Matters
The court has absolute discretion under section 27 of the Civil Procedure Act to determine by whom and to what extent costs are to be paid, which discretion must be exercised judicially based on the facts of each case. In estate matters involving family members descended from the same deceased, where both parties have intermeddled with the estate and quick administration benefits all, condemning a losing party to costs may not be in the interests of reconciliation.

Legislation cited (12)

Cases cited (13)

  • Miller v Minister of Pensions [1947] 2 All ER 372
  • Fredrick J.K Zaabwe v Orient Bank Ltd & Others (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 4 of 2006)
  • J.W.R Kazora v M.L.S Rukuba (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 13 of 1992)
  • Wallingford v Mutual Society (1880) 5 App Cas 685
  • Lawrence v Lord Norreys (1890) 15 App Cas 210
  • Davy v Gannet (1878) 7 Ch D 473
  • B.E.A. Timber Co. v Inder Singh Gill (1959) EA 463
  • Struggle (U) Limited v Pan African Insurance Co. Ltd (1990) KALR 46
  • Kasule v Makerere University [1975] HCB 376
  • Kampororo & 6 Ors v Administrator General (Miscellaneous Cause No. 10 of 2014)
  • Namirimu v Mulondo & 2 Others (High Court Civil Suit No. 27 of 2011)
  • Anecho v Twalib & 2 Ors (Civil Suit No. 9 of 2008)
  • Impressa Ing. Fortunato Federice v Irene Nabwire (Supreme Court Appeal No. 3 of 2000)

Full judgment

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

Kinene and Another v Kaggwa and 3 Others (Civil Suit 258 of 2016) [2023] UGHCFD 91 (6 June 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.