Wakilii

Kyaligonza and 2 Others v Tekereza and 3 Others (Miscellaneous Application 24 of 2023)

High Court · [2023] UGHCCD 315 · 2023 Application Granted — Contempt Established AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for committal to civil prison for contempt of court orders for stay of execution issued in Miscellaneous Application No. 166 of 2022 and No. 179 of 2022, arising from Civil Suit No. 15 of 2019
Decision
Respondents found in contempt of court orders for stay of execution; 1st to 3rd respondents committed to civil prison for two months and ordered to pay fines and exemplary damages; 4th respondent ordered to withdraw from suit land and pay fine

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Holding

Held that the respondents were in contempt of court orders for stay of execution. The court found that the respondents' conduct — including processing a freehold title application after interim stay orders, hiring out the suit land to tenants who displaced the applicants, and deploying private security — violated orders to maintain status quo. The 1st to 3rd respondents were committed to civil prison for two months and fined UGX 10,000,000 each, plus exemplary damages of UGX 3,000,000 each. The 4th respondent was fined UGX 7,000,000 and ordered to withdraw from the suit land.

Outcome

Respondents found in contempt of court orders for stay of execution; 1st to 3rd respondents committed to civil prison for two months and ordered to pay fines and exemplary damages; 4th respondent ordered to withdraw from suit land and pay fine

Facts

The applicants, as administrators of the estate of the late Tibamanya Johnson, obtained court orders staying execution of a judgment in Civil Suit No. 15 of 2019 pending appeal. The orders, issued via Miscellaneous Applications No. 166 and 167 of 2022, directed that status quo be maintained on the suit land. Despite knowledge of these orders, the respondents allegedly interfered with the suit land by: continuing to process an application to convert customary tenure to freehold (land inspection conducted 9 February 2023, inspection fees paid 22 March 2023); hiring out portions of the land to tenants who ploughed the applicants' gardens and grazing land; deploying the 4th respondent, a private security company, to guard the land using live bullets to prevent the applicants from accessing it; and commencing construction of a house. The respondents were formally notified on 12 April 2023 to vacate and withdraw security but did not comply. The applicants filed this application seeking committal to civil prison, fines, and restoration of status quo.

Issues

  1. Whether the respondents are in contempt of court orders issued vide Miscellaneous Application No. 166 of 2022 and Miscellaneous Application No. 167 of 2022.
  2. What remedies are available to the parties.

Orders

  • The respondents immediately vacate all parts of the suit land which initially belonged to the applicants at the time of determining Miscellaneous Application No. 167 of 2022 including that occupied by tenants authorised by the respondents.
  • No further action should be done in regard to any construction be it permanent or temporary by the respondents on the suit land.
  • The 1st to 3rd respondents are committed to civil prison for a period of two months.
  • The 4th respondent immediately withdraws all its workmen from the suit land.
  • The 1st to 3rd respondents are forbidden from hiring any private security company to guard the suit land.
  • The 1st to 3rd respondents to pay a fine of UGX 10,000,000 each or in the alternative three months imprisonment. The 4th respondent to pay a fine of UGX 7,000,000 or in the alternative the authorised manager to serve three months imprisonment. Fines to go to revenue account of the judiciary.
  • The 1st to 3rd respondents to pay exemplary damages of UGX 3,000,000 each to the applicants or in the alternative be committed to three months imprisonment in civil prison.
  • Costs of the application awarded to the applicant.

Rules and key headnotes

Contempt of Court — Elements — Existence of lawful order, knowledge of order, failure to comply
For a finding of contempt of court, three elements must be established: (a) the existence of a lawful court order; (b) the potential contemnor's knowledge of that order; and (c) the potential contemnor's failure to comply with the order.
Stay of Execution — Maintenance of Status Quo — Scope and Effect
When a court orders that status quo be maintained pending determination of an appeal, not even the slightest act should be done in regard to the subject matter. Any act whose result is likely to change or actually changes the status of the suit property, whether physically or otherwise, amounts to contempt as it renders the court order useless.
Stay of Execution — Effect on Rights of Successful Party
The essence of an application for stay of execution is to stop the successful party from enjoying the fruits of a court decision until the appeal is determined by the appellate court. Before such time, the successful party is not allowed to enjoy any fruits of the court decision which has been appealed against, including registering ownership or hiring out the property.
Contempt of Court — Remedies — Committal, Fines, and Exemplary Damages
Civil contempt may be punished by committal to civil prison, by way of sequestration, by fine, or by injunction. Fines and exemplary damages serve to indicate that court orders must be complied with and that there are consequences for disobedience, particularly where the contemnor's actions are intended to undermine the rule of law and administration of justice.
Contempt of Court — Binding Effect of Orders — No Self-Help Permitted
A party who knows of an order, whether null or void, regular or irregular, cannot be permitted to disobey it. It would be dangerous to hold that suitors or their solicitors could themselves judge whether an order was null, void, regular or irregular. The proper course is to come to the court and not take upon themselves to determine such questions.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (6)

  • Florence Dawuru v Angumale and Another (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 96)
  • Ambard v Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago [1936] 1 All ER, [1936] AC 322
  • Brenda Nambi v Raymond Lwanga (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 213 of 2017)
  • Chuck v Cremer (1846) 1 Coop temp Cott 338; 47 ER 884
  • Housing Finance Bank Ltd and Another v Edward Musisi (Court of Appeal No. 158 of 2010)
  • Attorney General v Male Mabirizi Kiwanuka (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 843 of 2021)

Full judgment

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

Kyaligonza and 2 Others v Tekereza and 3 Others (Miscellaneous Application 24 of 2023) [2023] UGHCCD 315 (13 October 2023)
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.