Wakilii

Lukonge Cotton Company Limited v Commissioner Land Registration and Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 87 of 2024)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 1460 · 2025 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for stay of execution and temporary injunction arising from Miscellaneous Application No. 211 of 2020
Decision
Application dismissed with costs to the Respondents

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court dismissed the application for stay of execution and temporary injunction. The stay application was held moot because the land had already been transferred to the 3rd Respondent before the application was filed. On the injunction, while the applicant established a prima facie case, it failed to prove irreparable damage and the balance of convenience favoured the 3rd Respondent who held legal title to the land.

Outcome

Application dismissed with costs to the Respondents

Facts

The Applicant, Lukonge Cotton Company Limited, claimed to be the registered proprietor of land comprised in LRV JJA414 Folio 22 Plot 68-72 at Masese Jinja. The 3rd Respondent, Hardrock Quarry (U) Limited, had instituted Miscellaneous Application No. 211 of 2020 seeking review of a decision in Civil Appeal No. 115 of 2015 and reinstatement as registered proprietor of the same land. That application was heard ex parte and on 18 May 2021 the court ordered the 3rd Respondent's name be entered on the certificate of title. The Applicant, who was not a party to that application, filed for review and simultaneously sought a stay of execution and temporary injunction. By the time this application was filed, the Commissioner Land Registration had already transferred the land to the 3rd Respondent on 25 April 2024. The Applicant alleged fraud and lack of due process in the transfer.

Issues

  1. Whether the application for stay of execution of the orders in Miscellaneous Application No. 211 of 2020 is properly before the court.
  2. Whether the application fulfils the grounds for the grant of a temporary injunction.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the Respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Mootness — Application Overtaken by Events
An application for stay of execution becomes moot and cannot be granted where the order sought to be stayed has already been executed before the application is filed, as the court cannot grant a remedy that has no practical effect on the rights of the parties.
Civil Procedure — Temporary Injunction — Prima Facie Case — Triable Issues
To establish a prima facie case for a temporary injunction, the applicant must show that the claim is not frivolous or vexatious and that there are serious questions to be tried; it is not necessary to prove a plausible case at the interlocutory stage.
Civil Procedure — Temporary Injunction — Irreparable Damage — Quantifiable Loss
Loss of money invested in land acquisition does not constitute irreparable damage for purposes of granting a temporary injunction because such loss is quantifiable and can be adequately compensated in damages.
Civil Procedure — Temporary Injunction — Balance of Convenience — Legal Interest in Property
Where competing claims to land exist, the balance of convenience tilts in favour of the party holding legal title and in possession of the property, as that party stands to lose more if an injunction is wrongly granted.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (11)

  • Mwiru Paul v National Council for Higher Education and 2 Others (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 84 of 2016)
  • Joseph Borowski V Attorney General of Canada (1989) 1 SCR 342
  • Lubega Moses v Nassimbwa Sylvia (Civil Application No. 122 of 2024)
  • Ndema Emanzi Rukandema v Mubiru Henry (Miscellaneous Application No. 225 of 2013)
  • Kiyimba Kaggwa Vs. Hajji Abdul Nasser Katende (1985) HCB page 43
  • Godfrey Sekitoleko and Four Others v Seezi Peter Mutabazi and Two Others (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 65 of 2011)
  • Daniel Mukwaya v Administrator General (High Court Civil Suit No. 630 of 1993)
  • Mutumba v Crane Bank Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 1536 of 2017)
  • American Cynamid Co Vs Ethicon Ltd (1975) 1 WLR 316
  • American Cyanamid v Ethicon Limited 1975 AC at page 396
  • Gapco (U) Ltd v Kaweesa Badru (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 259 of 2013)

Full judgment

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

Lukonge Cotton Company Limited v Commissioner Land Registration and Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 87 of 2024) [2025] UGHC 1460 (14 July 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.