Wakilii

Ladak Abdulla Muhammed Hussein v Griffiths Isingoma Kakiiza & others [1996] UGSC 6

Supreme Court · 1996 Appeal Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from a High Court ruling reviewing a consent judgment entered by the Registrar
Decision
Appeal allowed; consent judgment varied to exclude Plot 4B Acacia Avenue and respondents ordered joined as defendants so the suit can proceed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The appellant challenged a High Court ruling that reviewed a consent judgment and declared expropriated property vested in the respondents, who were not parties to the suit. The Supreme Court held that a third party who is not a party generally lacks locus standi to seek review under section 83 of the Civil Procedure Act, and that the trial judge erred in making a definitive finding that the respondents were bonafide purchasers for value and in vesting title in them without evidence adduced at a full hearing. The proper course was to vary or set aside the consent judgment and to join the respondents as defendants. Appeal allowed.

Outcome

Appeal allowed; consent judgment varied to exclude Plot 4B Acacia Avenue and respondents ordered joined as defendants so the suit can proceed

Facts

The appellant, a Ugandan citizen of Asian extraction, was the registered proprietor of three Kampala plots taken over by the Government after the 1972 expulsion of Asians and managed by the Departed Asians Property Custodian Board. In 1975 the Board allocated Plot 4B Acacia Avenue to Khamis Wenn, who mortgaged it to Housing Finance Company. On his default, the company sold the plot by public auction to the respondents in 1980, who became registered proprietors. On returning, the appellant sued the Attorney General and the Custodian Board for vacant possession, and a consent judgment was entered in 1992 declaring him owner of all three plots. The Minister then revoked his repossession letter as to Plot 4B, citing the respondents as bonafide purchasers. The respondents, not parties to the suit, applied to set aside or review the consent judgment and to be joined. The High Court reviewed the consent judgment and declared Plot 4B vested in the respondents.

Issues

  1. Whether a third party who was not a party to the suit but whose interests are affected by the decree has locus standi to apply for review of a consent judgment under section 83 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 42 rule 1.
  2. Whether the trial judge erred in finding, on an application for review, that the respondents were bonafide purchasers for value without notice.
  3. Whether the trial judge erred in declaring that the suit property vested in and belonged to the respondents, having regard to the Expropriated Properties Act 1982.
  4. Whether the trial judge ought to have considered the application to set aside the consent judgment and to join the respondents as defendants to the suit.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • The order of the High Court reviewing the consent judgment is set aside.
  • An order substituted varying the consent judgment to exclude reference to Plot 4B Acacia Avenue.
  • An order that the respondents be joined as defendants to the suit.
  • Costs in this court and the court below awarded to the appellant.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Review — Locus standi of a third party not party to the suit
A person who is not a party to the suit, though his interests may be affected by the decree, generally lacks locus standi to apply for review under section 83 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 42 rule 1, because "a person considering himself aggrieved" means one who has suffered a legal grievance through a decision pronounced against him; such a third party's remedy lies in objection proceedings, a fresh suit, or an application to set aside the decree.
Civil Procedure — Setting aside consent judgment — Order 9 rule 9
The court's discretion under Order 9 rule 9 of the Civil Procedure Rules to set aside or vary a consent judgment entered by the Registrar is not restricted to the parties to the suit, but extends to any person with a direct interest in the matter who has been injuriously affected by the judgment.
Civil Procedure — Review — Limits on determining contested issues
Complex and contested questions of title, including whether a purchaser is a bonafide purchaser for value without notice and whether the Expropriated Properties Act nullified the transaction, cannot be conclusively determined on an application for review; such findings are premature unless made after evidence is adduced by the parties at a full hearing.
Civil Procedure — Joinder of parties — Order 1 rule 10(2)
Where review or setting aside reopens proceedings, a consequential application to join a person whose presence is necessary to enable the court completely to adjudicate upon the suit ought to be considered and determined with reasons, review being a means to enable parties to settle their rights conclusively rather than an end in itself.

Legislation cited (8)

Cases cited (6)

  • Yusufu v Nokrach (1971) EA 104
  • In Re Nakivubo Chemists (U) Ltd (1971) HCB 12
  • Mbogo v Shah (1968) EA
  • Jacques v Harrison (1883-4) 12 AC 165
  • Employers Liability Assurance Corporation Ltd v Sedgwick Collins and Company Ltd (1927) AC 95
  • The Registered Trustees of Kampala Institute v Departed Asians Property Custodian Board (Civil Appeal No. 21 of 1993)

Full judgment

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Ladak Abdulla Muhammed Hussein v Griffiths Isingoma Kakiiza & others [1996] UGSC 6 (24 July 1996)
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.