Wakilii

Kituzi farm Ltd v Bestpack Ltd (Civil Application No. 354 of 2025)

Court of Appeal · [2026] UGCA 60 · 2026 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to a single Justice of the Court of Appeal for a stay of execution of a High Court monetary decree pending determination of an application to validate a notice of appeal filed out of time and the intended appeal.
Decision
Application allowed; execution of the High Court decree stayed pending determination of the application to validate the notice of appeal, the stay to continue until final determination of the appeal if validation succeeds and to lapse automatically if it fails.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Sitting as a single Justice, the court considered whether to stay execution of a monetary decree while an application to validate a notice of appeal filed out of time was pending. It held that it would not assess the intended appeal's likelihood of success while validation remained undetermined, but that continued execution — a served demand for the decretal sum and steps to tax the respondent's bill of costs — could render the validation application and any subsequent appeal nugatory, with the balance of convenience favouring preservation of the status quo. The application was allowed; execution was stayed pending determination of the validation application, to lapse if it fails, with each party bearing its own costs.

Outcome

Application allowed; execution of the High Court decree stayed pending determination of the application to validate the notice of appeal, the stay to continue until final determination of the appeal if validation succeeds and to lapse automatically if it fails.

Facts

The respondent supplied the applicant with packaging materials on credit over a long business relationship, leaving an outstanding balance of UGX 335,411,200. The respondent sued in High Court Civil Suit No. 826 of 2022, and on 14 November 2024 the High Court (Commercial Division) gave judgment for the respondent for the contractual sum, interest at 18% per annum, UGX 20,000,000 general damages and costs. The applicant, dissatisfied, instructed new lawyers and on 4 March 2025 filed a notice of appeal out of time, followed by Civil Application No. 0154 of 2025 to validate it and Civil Appeal No. 0206 of 2025. The applicant's High Court application for a stay of execution (Miscellaneous Application No. 1070 of 2025) was dismissed on 12 June 2025, after which this application was filed on 16 July 2025. The respondent had served a demand for the decretal sum on 27 February 2025 and filed a taxation application, moving to have its bill of costs taxed on 23 September 2025.

Issues

  1. Whether there are sufficient grounds for a stay of execution of the decree in High Court Civil Suit No. 826 of 2022 pending the determination of the application to validate the notice of appeal and Civil Appeal No. 0206 of 2025.

Orders

  • Execution of the judgment or decree in High Court Civil Suit No. 826 of 2022 is stayed pending the determination of Court of Appeal Civil Application No. 0154 of 2025.
  • If Court of Appeal Civil Application No. 0154 of 2025 succeeds, the stay of execution shall continue until the final determination of Civil Appeal No. 0206 of 2025.
  • If Court of Appeal Civil Application No. 0154 of 2025 fails, the stay of execution will automatically lapse.
  • Each party shall bear their own costs of this application.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Discretionary Nature of the Remedy
The grant of a stay of execution under rule 5(2)(b) of the Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions is a discretionary remedy, the word "may" conferring on the court a discretion to grant or refuse it.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Conditions to be Satisfied by an Applicant
An applicant for a stay of execution must establish that a notice of appeal has been lodged, that the appeal has a likelihood of success or a prima facie right to appeal, that the applicant will suffer irreparable damage or that the appeal will be rendered nugatory if a stay is refused, that the balance of convenience favours a stay, and that the application was instituted without unreasonable delay.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Pending Application to Validate a Notice of Appeal Filed Out of Time
Where a notice of appeal has been filed out of time and an application to validate it is pending, the court will not determine the likelihood of success of the intended appeal, but may grant a stay of execution to preserve the status quo and prevent the validation application and any subsequent appeal from being rendered nugatory.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Substantial Loss and the Nugatory Principle
An applicant establishes substantial loss where continued execution — such as a served demand for the decretal sum and steps to tax the respondent's bill of costs — may render the intended appeal nugatory because the executed decree could not be reversed should the appeal succeed.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (5)

  • Gashumba Mamiraguha v Sam Nkundiye (Civil Application No. 24 of 2015)
  • Sekikubo & 3 Others v Attorney General (Constitutional Application No. 6 of 2013)
  • Gladys Mukula v Rosemary Nabukenya (Civil Application No. 211 of 2020)
  • Yoramu Kasinde & Anor v Kihonde Samuel & Anor (Civil Application No. 259 of 2018)
  • National Enterprise Corporation v Mukisa Foods (Miscellaneous Civil Application No. 7 of 1998)

Full judgment

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

Kituzi farm Ltd v Bestpack Ltd (Civil Application No. 354 of 2025) [2026] UGCA 60 (17 March 2026)
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.