Wakilii

Lydia Nakimbugwe v Nanjobe Solome and Another [2026] UGHCFD 85

High Court · 2026 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application by notice of motion under the Mental Health Act to cancel the appointment of the estate manager of a person with mental illness and to appoint the applicant as her guardian and personal representative
Decision
Application granted; the 2nd Respondent's appointment as estate manager cancelled and the applicant appointed guardian and personal representative subject to court supervision

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that a manager appointed for a person with mental illness holds office on trust and may be removed where he acts, or risks acting, against that person's interests. Although the alleged fraudulent land sales were not proved to the required standard and no finding of dishonesty was made, the 2nd Respondent's unexplained failure to file the mandated inventory some seven years on, combined with the undisputed breakdown of the custodial arrangement, justified cancelling his appointment. The applicant, the 1st Respondent's daughter caring for her with a fixed abode, employment and family consent, was found suitable and appointed guardian and personal representative, subject to supervisory safeguards.

Outcome

Application granted; the 2nd Respondent's appointment as estate manager cancelled and the applicant appointed guardian and personal representative subject to court supervision

Facts

In 2019, under Miscellaneous Cause No. 27 of 2017, the court found the 1st Respondent, Nanjobe Solome, to be of unsound mind and appointed her biological brother, the 2nd Respondent, as manager of her estate. That order required him to execute a bond, refrain from dealing with immovable property beyond five years without court leave, and file an inventory within three months. No inventory was ever filed. The applicant, the 1st Respondent's biological daughter, is a social worker with a fixed abode who now cares for the 1st Respondent, who left the 2nd Respondent's custody over alleged mistreatment. The applicant alleged the 2nd Respondent sold estate land without accounting, but the annexure relied upon was an inventory from a 1988 administration cause concerning the parties' late father's estate, establishing only the 1st Respondent's beneficial interest, not proof of any 2025 sale. Family members executed a consent supporting the applicant's appointment; the 2nd Respondent filed no reply and did not appear, and no family member opposed the application.

Issues

  1. Whether the order appointing the 2nd Respondent as manager of the 1st Respondent's affairs should be cancelled.
  2. Whether the applicant is a suitable person to be appointed guardian and personal representative of the 1st Respondent.

Orders

  • The 1st Respondent, Nanjobe Solome, remains a person with mental illness incapable of managing her own affairs, a finding made on 27th March 2019 which stands undisturbed.
  • The order made in Miscellaneous Cause No. 27 of 2017 on 27th March 2019 appointing the 2nd Respondent as manager of the 1st Respondent's estate is cancelled.
  • The Applicant is appointed guardian of the 1st Respondent and granted leave to act as her personal representative in all matters concerning her personal welfare and the management of her estate.
  • The Applicant shall not, without the special and express permission of court, mortgage, charge, transfer by sale, gift, surrender or exchange, or lease for a term exceeding five years, any immovable property forming part of the 1st Respondent's estate.
  • The Applicant shall file in court, within three months from the date of the ruling, an inventory of the property, monies and effects of the 1st Respondent's estate so far as can reasonably be ascertained.
  • The 2nd Respondent shall, within sixty days from the date of the ruling, render to the Applicant, for onward filing in court, an account of his management of the estate from 31st May 2019 to date, including any dealings in the specified land.
  • Each party shall bear its own costs of this application.

Rules and key headnotes

Trusts — Fiduciary Office — Manager or Personal Representative for a Person with Mental Illness
A representative appointed under section 61(1) of the Mental Health Act holds that office on trust for the person with mental illness, and the appointment may be withdrawn where the representative is shown to have acted, or to be at real risk of acting, against the interests of the person he was appointed to protect.
Family Law — Mental Health Act — Removal of Estate Manager — Breach of Mandatory Supervisory Conditions
The unexplained failure of a manager to file the inventory mandated as a condition of appointment, taken together with an undisputed breakdown in the custodial arrangement for the person with mental illness, is sufficient to justify cancelling the appointment without any finding that the manager dishonestly dealt with the estate's property.
Family Law — Guardianship — Suitability of Guardian — Welfare as Paramount Consideration
In assessing the suitability of a proposed guardian and personal representative of a person with mental illness, the court considers the proposed guardian's relationship to the patient, demonstrated involvement in her care, fixed place of abode, gainful employment and family consent, with the welfare of the person, not the convenience of any adult child or sibling, being the paramount consideration.
Family Law — Guardianship — Supervisory Safeguards on Appointment
The appointment of a guardian over the estate of a person with mental illness is ordinarily made subject to the court's supervisory safeguards, namely a restriction on dealing with immovable property without express leave and a requirement to account by inventory within a fixed period, as a continuation of ordinary practice rather than a reflection on the appointee.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (1)

  • In re Kivuna Johnson (Miscellaneous Cause No. 007 of 2025)

Full judgment

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Lydia Nakimbugwe v Nanjobe Solome and Another [2026] UGHCFD 85 (3 July 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.