Wakilii

Luyigo Henry and Musasizi Samuel v Pauline Namwanje (Civil Miscellaneous Application 2 of 2023)

Supreme Court · [2026] UGSC 34 · 2026 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to strike out Notice of Appeal filed in the Court of Appeal for failure to prosecute
Decision
Notice of Appeal struck out for failure to comply with procedural requirements and failure to prosecute

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that a Notice of Appeal filed without any subsequent steps to prosecute the appeal for six years constitutes an abuse of court process. The Respondent failed to comply with Rule 74(1) of the Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions by not serving the Notice of Appeal within the mandatory seven-day period, and failed to institute the appeal by filing a memorandum of appeal and record of appeal within the prescribed sixty days under Rule 79(1). The Court exercised its inherent power under Rule 2(2) to prevent abuse of process and struck out the Notice of Appeal with costs to the Applicants.

Outcome

Notice of Appeal struck out for failure to comply with procedural requirements and failure to prosecute

Facts

The Applicants were successful in the Court of Appeal in Civil Appeal No. 118 of 2012, with judgment delivered on 21 October 2019. The Respondent filed a Notice of Appeal on 25 October 2019 but served it on the Applicants only on 4 November 2019, nine days after filing and beyond the mandatory seven-day service period prescribed by Rule 74(1). Since filing the Notice in October 2019, the Respondent took no further steps to prosecute the appeal for six years. She did not file a memorandum of appeal, obtain the record of appeal, or take any steps toward instituting or prosecuting the appeal. The Respondent's counsel withdrew from representation in October 2025, stating they could no longer locate their client. Substituted service of the hearing notice was effected through the Daily Monitor newspaper on 15 June 2026 as ordered by the Court. The Respondent did not appear, was not represented, and filed no reply to the application.

Issues

  1. Whether the Notice of Appeal filed by the Respondent on 25 October 2019 should be struck out for failure to comply with mandatory procedural requirements.
  2. Whether the Respondent's failure to serve the Notice of Appeal within seven days as required by Rule 74(1) warrants striking out the Notice.
  3. Whether the Respondent's failure to prosecute the appeal for six years constitutes an abuse of court process.

Orders

  • Notice of Appeal in Civil Appeal Number 118 of 2012 struck out.
  • Costs awarded to the Applicants.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Appeals — Notice of Appeal — Service Requirements — Mandatory Compliance
Rule 74(1) of the Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions requires an intending appellant to serve copies of the Notice of Appeal on all persons directly affected by the appeal before or within seven days after lodging the notice, and this requirement is mandatory and must be complied with.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Striking Out Notice of Appeal — Failure to Prosecute
Under Rule 78 of the Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions, a person on whom a Notice of Appeal has been served may apply to strike out the notice on the ground that an essential step in the proceedings has not been taken or has not been taken within the prescribed time.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Institution of Appeal — Time Limits
Rule 79(1) of the Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions requires an appeal to be instituted within sixty days after the date when the Notice of Appeal was lodged by filing a memorandum of appeal, the record of appeal, the prescribed fee, and security for costs, and failure to take these steps within the prescribed time renders the appeal incompetent.
Civil Procedure — Inherent Jurisdiction — Abuse of Court Process — Delay
The Court retains inherent power under Rule 2(2) of the Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions to make such orders as may be necessary for achieving the ends of justice or to prevent abuse of the process of the court, and this power extends to preventing abuse caused by delay, including striking out a Notice of Appeal filed with no intention of prosecuting the appeal.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Deemed Withdrawal — Effect of Non-Prosecution
Under Rule 80(a) of the Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions, if a party who has lodged a Notice of Appeal fails to institute an appeal within the prescribed time, he or she shall be taken to have withdrawn the notice of appeal and shall, unless the court otherwise orders, be liable to pay the costs arising from the notice to any persons on whom the notice of appeal was served.

Legislation cited (7)

  • Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions S.I. 13-11 Rule 2(2)
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions Rule 74(1)
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions Rule 78
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions Rule 79(1)
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions Rule 80(a)
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions Rule 53(2)
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions Rule 109

Cases cited (4)

Full judgment

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Luyigo Henry and Musasizi Samuel v Pauline Namwanje (Civil Miscellaneous Application 2 of 2023) [2026] UGSC 34 (15 June 2026)
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.