Wakilii

Kisomoro sub-county Local Government v Gamukama (HCT – 01 – LD – CA – 0002 OF 2015))

High Court · [2016] UGHCLD 51 · 2016 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal from magistrate's decision in land dispute — trial court found for respondent on ownership, trespass, and damages
Decision
Appeal dismissed with costs — trial court's judgment in favour of respondent upheld in full including damages awards

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the appeal lacked merit and was dismissed with costs. The first ground was too general and offended procedural rules. The suit was not time-barred as trespass is a continuous tort and the cause of action arose in 2006–2007 when the appellant destroyed the respondent's structures, not in 1975 as alleged. The awards of UGX 19,000,000 general damages and UGX 1,000,000 exemplary damages were upheld as the trial magistrate did not act on wrong principles and the amounts were justified by the appellant's highhanded conduct in destroying property and interfering with the respondent's customary land ownership.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed with costs — trial court's judgment in favour of respondent upheld in full including damages awards

Facts

The respondent claimed ownership of customary land at Nyakigumba Trading Centre where he had buildings and vacant plots fenced with trees. He allowed the appellant sub-county to operate a market on part of his land. In 2006–2007, when the respondent attempted to construct a house and latrine on a vacant plot, appellant officials stopped him, claiming the sub-county owned the land. Appellant officials destroyed the respondent's property and took away tools. The respondent sued for a declaration of ownership, injunction, and damages. The appellant denied the claim and counterclaimed for trespass damages, declaring itself the owner. The trial magistrate found for the respondent after evaluating evidence and visiting the locus in quo, awarding UGX 19,000,000 general damages and UGX 1,000,000 exemplary damages. The appellant appealed.

Issues

  1. Whether the learned trial Magistrate Grade one erred in law and fact when he failed to properly evaluate the evidence on record.
  2. Whether the learned trial Magistrate Grade one erred in law and fact when he held that the Respondent's suit/claim is not barred by limitation.
  3. Whether the learned trial Magistrate Grade one erred in law and fact in awarding excessive general damages of UGX 19,000,000 and exemplary damages of UGX 1,000,000 which were not supported by evidence.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Award of general damages of UGX 19,000,000 upheld.
  • Award of exemplary damages of UGX 1,000,000 upheld.
  • Costs awarded to the respondent.
  • Right of appeal explained.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Grounds of Appeal — Precision Required
A ground of appeal that is too general and does not precisely and concisely specify the point which is said to have been wrongly decided offends Order 43 Rule 1(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules and will be dismissed.
Land & Property — Limitation — Customary Land — Trespass as Continuous Tort
Trespass to land as a tort is a continuous tort with each day of trespass giving rise to a new cause of action from day to day as long as it lasts, and limitation does not arise during the continuation of the trespass.
Damages & Quantum — Exemplary Damages — Pleading Requirements
A claim for exemplary damages must be specifically pleaded in the body of the plaint together with full particulars of facts relied on to support the claim and not merely in the prayer.
Damages & Quantum — Exemplary Damages — Nature and Purpose
Punitive or exemplary damages are awardable to punish, deter, and express the court's outrage at a defendant's egregious, highhanded, malicious, vindictive, oppressive or malicious conduct, and are also awardable for improper interference by public officials with the rights of ordinary subjects. They focus on the defendant's misconduct rather than the plaintiff's injury and are awardable with restraint in exceptional cases.
Civil Procedure — Appellate Review — Assessment of Damages
Assessment of damages is principally the duty of the trial court. An appellate court will not reverse a trial judge's award of damages merely because it would have given a different sum. Reversal is justified only where the trial judge acted upon a wrong principle of law or the amount awarded was so extremely high or very small as to be an entirely erroneous estimate of the damage.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (9)

  • Banco Arabe Espanol v Bank of Uganda (SCCA No. 8 of 1998)
  • Attorney General v Baliraine (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 79 of 2003)
  • Wabuli v Delingu (Civil Suit No. 102 of 2009)
  • Balaba v Kagaba (High Court Civil Suit No. 1417 of 1999)
  • Busingye v T.M.K (Civil Suit No. 15 of 1990)
  • Obwolo v Barclays Bank of Uganda Ltd (Civil Suit No. 682 of 1985)
  • Obongo v Municipal Council of Kisumu [1971] EA 91
  • Kampala District Land Board v Babweyana (Civil Appeal No. 2 of 2007)
  • Flint v Lovell [1935] 1 KB 354

Full judgment

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

Kisomoro sub-county Local Government v Gamukama (HCT – 01 – LD – CA – 0002 OF 2015)) [2016] UGHCLD 51 (15 December 2016)
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.