Wakilii

Kizito Lutwama Moussa v Tropical Bank Limited and Others (Miscellaneous Application 337 of 2025)

High Court · [2025] UGHCCD 132 · 2025 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to be added as a respondent in judicial review proceedings
Decision
Application to be added as a respondent in judicial review proceedings dismissed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

Held that a private person who is not exercising governmental power or function is not a necessary party to judicial review proceedings that are concerned with the decision-making process of a public official. Judicial review is concerned with public bodies or officials exercising power of a public nature with public law consequences. The applicant, being a private person claiming land ownership, was not a necessary party to judicial review proceedings challenging the Commissioner for Land Registration's decision to cancel certificates of title, even though the land was the subject matter of the underlying dispute.

Outcome

Application to be added as a respondent in judicial review proceedings dismissed

Facts

The applicant claimed to be the lawful owner of land comprised in Mengo Kibuga Block 12 Plot 665, Plot 658 and Plot 659. Tropical Bank Limited sold mortgaged properties to Namayiba Park Hotel Limited and Akuguzibwe Gerald Magera pursuant to a mortgage sale. The 2nd and 3rd respondents became registered owners in August and September 2024. The applicant challenged the mortgage sale in the Commercial Division (Civil Suit No. 1455 of 2024 and Civil Suit No. 300 of 2008). While those suits were pending, the Commissioner for Land Registration cancelled the 2nd and 3rd respondents' certificates of title on 9th April 2025, reverting ownership to the applicant. The respondents filed Misc Cause No. 97 of 2025 for judicial review of the Commissioner's decision. The applicant then sought to be added as a respondent in the judicial review proceedings, asserting he was a necessary party as the lawful owner of the land.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant is a necessary party to be added as a respondent in judicial review proceedings (Misc Cause No. 97 of 2025).

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Applicant to pay costs of the application.
  • Applicants in Misc Cause No. 97 of 2025 to file written submissions by 29th August 2025.
  • Respondent (Commissioner for Land Registration) to file written submissions by 11th September 2025.
  • Applicants to file submissions in rejoinder (if any) by 17th September 2025.
  • Parties to appear for mention of Misc Cause No. 97 of 2025 on 18th September 2025.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Parties — Necessary Parties — Private Persons
A private person who is not exercising governmental power or function is not a necessary party to judicial review proceedings that are concerned with the decision-making process of a public official.
Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Scope — Public Bodies and Officials
The supervisory power of the court under judicial review is concerned mainly with public bodies or officials exercising power of a public nature with public law consequences. A private body or person is not subject to judicial review unless it is proved that such body or person carries out activities of a public nature with public law consequences, combined with proof that the private body or person exercises some form of governmental power.
Civil Procedure — Parties — Joinder — Necessary Parties
Under Order 1 rule 10(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules, a party may be added to a suit if that party's presence is necessary in order to enable the court effectually and completely to adjudicate upon and settle all questions involved in the suit. The person seeking to be added must be a necessary party.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (3)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Kizito Lutwama Moussa v Tropical Bank Limited and Others (Miscellaneous Application 337 of 2025) [2025] UGHCCD 132 (21 August 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.