Wakilii

Maria Mpinga and Others v Sensalire and Others (Civil Appeal No. 10 of 2001 and No. 118 of 2003; Civil Appeal No. 118 of 2003)

Court of Appeal · [2009] UGCA 78 · 2009 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from a High Court judgment dismissing a suit for specific performance of a lease
Decision
Appeal dismissed; High Court judgment and orders affirmed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the High Court's finding that no valid lease existed over Kibuga Block 7, Plot 89, because payment of money to a registered owner without agreed terms and conditions does not create a lease. Hearsay evidence that the appellants' father paid ground rent for Plot 89 was insufficient. The Court affirmed that the 5th respondent was a bona fide purchaser for value without notice, as fraud must be pleaded with particulars and attributable to the transferee. Since no particulars of fraud were pleaded or proved, the title could not be impeached. The appellants also failed to establish customary tenancy or bona fide occupancy status.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed; High Court judgment and orders affirmed

Facts

The appellants, as legal representatives of the late Joseph Mpinga, sued the respondents (legal representatives of the late Gabriel Galabuzi and a subsequent transferee) claiming specific performance of a 1957 lease agreement over Kibuga Block 7, Plot 89 at Ndeeba, Mengo. The appellants alleged the late Mpinga leased Plot 89, erected a commercial building there, and paid ground rent. They relied on a lease agreement (exhibit P5) covering unsurveyed land later divided into Plots 67 and 89, receipts for rent, and a payment of shs 50,000. The respondents contended the lease was registered only over Plot 67, that Mpinga was merely permitted to build on Plot 89 without a lease, and that the payment was a desperate attempt to manufacture a lease. The 5th respondent claimed to be a bona fide purchaser for value without notice. The High Court dismissed the suit, finding no lease on Plot 89, but ordered the 5th respondent to pay shs 4,000,000 for the buildings as customary owners.

Issues

  1. Whether there was a lease between the father of the appellants and the father of the respondents over Plot 89.
  2. Whether the 5th respondent was a bona fide purchaser of the suit land.
  3. Whether the appellants were customary tenants on the suit land.
  4. What remedies were available to the parties.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Costs of the appeal awarded to the respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Land & Property — Leases — Requirements for Creation of a Valid Lease
A lease is not created merely by paying money to the registered owner of land; there must be agreed terms and conditions of the lease.
Evidence — Hearsay — Proof of Payment of Ground Rent
Testimony that a deceased father told a witness he was paying ground rent for a plot is hearsay and cannot prove the existence of a lease; the burden to prove such payment rests on the party alleging it.
Land & Property — Registration of Titles — Bona Fide Purchaser and Impeachment for Fraud
To impeach the title of a registered proprietor, fraud must be attributable to the transferee directly or by necessary implication, must be specifically pleaded with particulars, and must be proved to a standard heavier than the ordinary civil balance of probabilities.
Land & Property — Bona Fide Purchaser — Imputed Knowledge through Advocate
The mere fact that a purchaser's advocate had previously acted for another party in relation to the same land more than a decade earlier does not, without more, impute fraud or notice to the purchaser.
Land & Property — Customary Tenancy — Consistency with Pleadings
A party who has consistently pleaded and asserted a leasehold interest cannot at the appellate stage recharacterise its claim as one of customary tenancy or bona fide occupancy with security of tenure.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (4)

  • David Sejjaka Nalima v Rebecca Musoke (Civil Appeal No. 12 of 1985)
  • Robert A. Lusweswe v G.W. Kasule and Another (HCCS No. 10 of 1983)
  • Crayem Vs Consolidated African Trust (1949) 12 W.A.L.A.443
  • Kampala Bottlers Ltd Vs Damanico (U) Ltd 1990-1994 E.A.141

Full judgment

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

Maria Mpinga and Others v Sensalire and Others (Civil Appeal No. 10 of 2001 and No. 118 of 2003; Civil Appeal No. 118 of 2003) [2009] UGCA 78 (31 March 2009)
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.