Wakilii

Magezi v National Medical Stores (Application 9 of 2015)

East African Court of Justice · [2016] EACJ 121 · 2016 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for enlargement of time to file taxation reference arising from taxation of bills of costs
Decision
Application dismissed and underlying taxation reference struck out

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court dismissed the application for extension of time to file a taxation reference. The applicant failed to meet the qualitatively higher standard of sufficient reason required under Rule 4 of the East African Court of Justice Rules. The alleged drowning incident of counsel's worker was unsupported by evidence, and the applicant failed to act diligently by not instructing another lawyer from the same firm to file the reference on time.

Outcome

Application dismissed and underlying taxation reference struck out

Facts

The applicant, Godfrey Magezi, sought to challenge a taxation ruling rendered on 7 September 2015 in Consolidated Taxation Causes Nos. 2 and 4 of 2014. Under Rule 114 of the Court Rules, the taxation reference had to be filed by 21 September 2015. The applicant's counsel, Mohmed Mbabazi, allegedly failed to file on time because one of his workers drowned in a pool on his farm on 20 September 2015, requiring his cooperation with the Uganda Police. The reference was filed one day late on 22 September 2015. The applicant then filed this application on 2 October 2015 seeking enlargement of time and validation of the late filing. The respondent opposed the application, arguing that no sufficient reason was given and no evidence was provided to substantiate the alleged drowning incident.

Issues

  1. Whether there is sufficient reason in the Application to grant the extension of time for filing Taxation Reference No. 1 of 2015.

Orders

  • The prayer for extension of time for filing Taxation Reference No. 1 of 2015: Godfrey Magezi v National Medical Stores against the decision rendered in Consolidated Taxation Causes Nos. 2 and 4 of 2014 is denied.
  • The prayer for validation of the late filing of Taxation Reference No. 1 of 2015: Godfrey Magezi v National Medical Stores is denied.
  • This Application is dismissed with costs to the Respondent.
  • Taxation Reference No. 1 of 2015 is struck out.

Rules and key headnotes

Extension of Time — Sufficient Reason — Qualitatively Higher Standard under Rule 4
Rule 4 of the East African Court of Justice Rules requires a qualitatively higher standard of sufficient reason to extend time, as opposed to the standard of any reason prescribed under corresponding rules in some member states.
Extension of Time — Burden of Proof — Evidential Support
Where an applicant seeks extension of time based on an alleged incident, the applicant must provide evidential proof of the incident to enable the Court to assess whether the reason meets the rigorous standard required by Rule 4, and a bare statement in an affidavit without supporting evidence does not meet this standard.
Extension of Time — Counsel's Error — Client's Duty to Act Diligently
An error of counsel does not automatically excuse a client from the consequences of delay where the client failed to act diligently by not instructing another lawyer from the same law firm to file the reference on time when informed that counsel would not meet the statutory deadline.
Extension of Time — Discretion — Other Considerations
The Court's discretion to consider other factors such as length of delay and chances of success arises only after sufficient reason for extension of time has been established, and the discretion must be exercised judicially and not based on sentiment or sympathy.

Legislation cited (8)

  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2013 Rule 4
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2013 Rule 84(1)
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2013 Rule 84(2)
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2013 Rule 85(1)
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2013 Rule 11
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2013 Rule 114
  • Evidence Act Cap. 6 s.101(1)
  • Evidence Act Cap. 6 s.103

Cases cited (9)

  • St. Kizito Youth Farm Ltd v Attorney General (Civil Application No. 58 of 1997)
  • Mugo v Wanjiri [1970] EA 481
  • Njaiji v Munyiri [1975] EA 179
  • Rosette Kizito v Administrator General and Others (Supreme Court Civil Application No. 9 of 1986)
  • Julius Rwabinumi v Hope Bahimbisomwe (Civil Application No. 14 of 2009)
  • Secretary General of the East African Community v Hon. Sitenda Sebalu (Application No. 9 of 2012)
  • Attorney General of Kenya v Prof. Peter Anyang' Nyongo (Appeal No. 1 of 2009)
  • Prof Anyang' Nyongo and 10 Others v Attorney General of Kenya (Application No. 2 of 2010)
  • Saalim v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform [2002] IESC 17

Full judgment

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

Magezi v National Medical Stores (Application 9 of 2015) [2016] EACJ 121 (30 June 2016)
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.