Wakilii

Kisembo v Kasasira & 6 Others (Miscellaneous Cause 1 of 2024)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 32 · 2025 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application by member of cooperative society seeking declaration that election of chairperson was illegal and orders setting aside resolutions
Decision
Application dismissed for lack of a cause of action

Observed later treatment

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Holding

The High Court dismissed the application challenging the election of a chairperson of a cooperative society for lack of a cause of action. The court held that the applicant failed to prove that the second respondent, whose declaration of the first respondent as chairperson was challenged, possessed a legal mandate to make such declaration under the Cooperative Societies Act or Regulations. Without establishing the source and existence of the mandate, the applicant could not demonstrate a violation of rights. The court amended a technical error in citation from Section 75(a) to Section 75(1) but found the substance of the claim unsustainable.

Outcome

Application dismissed for lack of a cause of action

Facts

The applicant, a member of Rugendabara Cooperative Society Farming Ltd and former member of its vetting committee, challenged the election of the first respondent as chairperson on 2 June 2021 and subsequently on 30 March 2023. The applicant alleged the first respondent was illegally elected and conducted illegal transactions on the society's bank account. The first respondent contended he was validly elected on 30 March 2023 at a special general meeting following amendment of the society bye-laws and after a waiver was granted regarding previous disqualification. The second respondent, described as having declared the first respondent as chairperson, and other respondents who had passed resolutions appointing the first respondent as principal signatory to the bank account, contested the application. The society bye-laws were not tendered in evidence.

Issues

  1. Whether the application has been properly filed before the High Court.
  2. Whether the first respondent was lawfully elected as Chairperson of the cooperative society.
  3. Whether there was a lawful resolution appointing the first respondent as principal signatory to the cooperative society's bank account.
  4. What remedies are available to the parties.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Amendments — Power of court to amend defects in pleadings
Under Section 100 of the Civil Procedure Act, the court may at any time amend any defect or error in proceedings to determine the real question raised, including correcting erroneous citation of a non-existent statutory provision where the correct provision is relevant to the issue before the court.
Administrative Law — Cooperative Societies — Applications to court under Cooperative Societies Act
An application under Section 75(1) (now Section 144(1)) of the Cooperative Societies Act can only arise from a decision of the Registrar of Cooperatives made under Section 73 (now Section 141) or any other provisions of the Act, and not from decisions of general meetings or internal society processes unless such decisions emanate from the Registrar's mandate.
Company Law — Cooperative Societies — Supreme authority and election of governing body
Under Regulation 17(1) and Regulation 20(e) of the Cooperative Societies Regulations, the supreme authority in a registered cooperative society is vested in the general meeting of members, and it is the general meeting that elects members of the committee (governing body) including the chairperson, not the Registrar of Cooperatives.
Civil Procedure — Cause of Action — Elements required to sustain a cause of action
To sustain a cause of action, a plaintiff or applicant must prove three elements: that the plaintiff enjoyed a right, that the right was violated, and that the defendant or respondent is liable for the violation. A cause of action comprises every fact which, if traversed, would be necessary for the plaintiff to prove in order to support the right to judgment.
Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Establishing legal mandate before questioning legality of acts
Before a court can determine whether an act is illegal, it must first be demonstrated that the person who performed the act had a legal mandate to act. Where the mandate is not established, the legality of acts flowing from the purported mandate becomes moot unless the existence of the mandate itself is in issue.

Legislation cited (12)

Cases cited (3)

  • Lukwago v Attorney General (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 6 of 2014)
  • Auto Garage v Motokov [1971] EA 314
  • Al Hajj Nasser N Ssebagala v Attorney General and Others (Constitutional Petition No. 1 of 1999)

Full judgment

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

Kisembo v Kasasira & 6 Others (Miscellaneous Cause 1 of 2024) [2025] UGHC 32 (8 January 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.