Wakilii

Kizza & Anor v Kalala & 4 Ors (Civil Suit No. 151 of 2004) 2017 UGHCLD 6 (2017-01-31)

High Court · [2017] UGHCLD 6 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Preliminary objection raised by defendants that the claim is res judicata following determination of the same issues in Mengo Chief Magistrate's Court Civil Suit No. 149 of 1997
Decision
Suit dismissed on preliminary objection — matter res judicata; plaintiffs' remedy lies in executing the decree in Mengo Chief Magistrate's Court Civil Suit No. 149 of 1997

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the plaintiffs' suit was barred by res judicata. The matters directly and substantially in issue — whether the first defendant fraudulently obtained registration over the suit land and whether other defendants acquired lawful interest from her — had been litigated and finally determined in Mengo Chief Magistrate's Court Civil Suit No. 149 of 1997 between the same parties. The plaintiffs could not re-litigate the same issues by adding parties or framing the claim differently. Suit dismissed with costs.

Outcome

Suit dismissed on preliminary objection — matter res judicata; plaintiffs' remedy lies in executing the decree in Mengo Chief Magistrate's Court Civil Suit No. 149 of 1997

Facts

The plaintiffs' father died in 1983. The first defendant, his sister, obtained Letters of Administration for his estate while the plaintiffs were infants. She registered herself on land comprised in Kibuga Block 17 Plot 19 at Rubaga, sub-divided it, and transferred portions to her own children and others. The plaintiffs previously sued the first defendant in Mengo Chief Magistrate's Court Civil Suit No. 149 of 1997 alleging mismanagement of the estate and fraud. The Chief Magistrate's Court found that the first defendant was the correct person to obtain Letters of Administration, that she acted fraudulently in managing the estate, and that the suit was not time-barred. The court ordered revocation of Letters of Administration and directed the first defendant to account for proceeds. No appeal was filed. The plaintiffs then brought the present suit seeking cancellation of the defendants' registrations on the same land, claiming fraud in the first defendant's registration. The defendants raised a preliminary objection that the suit was res judicata.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiffs' present suit is res judicata.
  2. What are the remedies available to the parties?

Orders

  • Suit dismissed with costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Res Judicata — Conditions for Applicability
No court shall try any suit or issue in which the matters directly and substantially in issue have been directly and substantially in issue in a former suit between the same parties, or between parties under whom they or any of them claim, litigating under the same title, in a court competent to try the suit, and the matters have been heard and finally decided by that court.
Civil Procedure — Res Judicata — Test for Application
In determining whether a suit is barred by res judicata, the test is whether the plaintiff in the second suit is trying to bring before the court in another way, in the form of a new cause of action, a transaction which has already been presented before a court of competent jurisdiction in earlier proceedings and has been adjudicated upon.
Civil Procedure — Res Judicata — Evidence Not Adduced in Former Suit
The doctrine of res judicata applies not only where a specific matter has been determined but also where matters which could have been enjoined were not enjoined. A party who ought to have taken a step in earlier proceedings and did not take it cannot evade the doctrine by litigating the same matter in a subsequent suit in another court. Parties are bound to bring all their cases at once and are forbidden from litigating in installments.
Civil Procedure — Res Judicata — Fraud Already Litigated
Where the issue of fraud has been litigated in an earlier suit between the same parties upon its merits and concluded in favour of one party, a subsequent suit raising the same issue of fraud is res judicata and not maintainable, even if the subsequent suit attempts to frame the fraud allegation differently or add new parties.
Civil Procedure — Res Judicata — Remedy Where Doctrine Applies
Where the doctrine of res judicata applies, the court has no choice but to dismiss the suit. The proper remedy for a party lies in executing the decree obtained in the former suit, not in bringing a fresh action on the same cause.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Civil Procedure Act Cap.71 s.7

Cases cited (8)

  • Posiyano Semakula v Susan Namagala & Others (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 2 of 1977)
  • Gokaldas Lixilidas Tanna v Sister Rose Muyinza (High Court Civil Suit No. 707 of 1987)
  • John William Kahuka & Others v Personal Representative of Rt. Rev. Eric Sabiti (1995) V KALR 79
  • Lt. David Kabareebe v Maj. Prosy Nalweyioso (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 34 of 2003)
  • Ponsiyano Semakula v Susan Magala & Others [1979] HCB 89
  • Kafeero Sentongo v Shell (U) Ltd & Uganda Petroleum Co. Ltd (Court of Appeal Civil Application No. 50 of 2003)
  • Omondi v National Bank of Kenya Ltd [2001] IEA 177
  • John William Kuhuku & Others v Personal Representatives of Rt. Rev. Eric Sabiti (High Court Civil Appeal No. 85 of 1989)

Full judgment

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Kizza & Anor v Kalala & 4 Ors (Civil Suit No. 151 of 2004) 2017 UGHCLD 6 (2017-01-31)
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.