Wakilii

Mattee and Others v Bwambale and Another (CIVIL APPEAL NO. DR. MFP 17 99)

High Court · [2001] UGHC 118 · 2001 Appeal Allowed — Title Cancelled AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal from Chief Magistrate's Court Kasese dismissing suit for trespass and cancellation of title
Decision
Certificate of title cancelled, costs to appellants

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court allowed the appeal, holding that the respondent fraudulently obtained title to defeat the appellants' unregistered interests in land they had occupied since 1962. The court found fraud was established where the respondent applied for registration claiming the land was empty when it was under the appellants' occupation, and where no survey or inspection was conducted. The respondent's certificate of title was cancelled.

Outcome

Certificate of title cancelled, costs to appellants

Facts

The appellants claimed they had occupied land at Bunyangabu Block 84 Plot 11 since 1962 during the Rwenzururu uprising. The second respondent, Joseph Matte, registered title to the same land in 1984. The appellants attempted to register the land in their names but discovered the respondent had already obtained title. They sued for trespass, destruction of crops, and cancellation of title on grounds of fraud. Evidence established that the appellants had lived on the land and had crops and homes there. The respondent claimed he acquired empty land. The trial Chief Magistrate dismissed the suit, finding the appellants had no unregistered interest defeated by the respondent's registration. The appellants appealed.

Issues

  1. Whether the appellants had unregistered interests in the land prior to the respondent's registration
  2. Whether the respondent obtained the certificate of title by fraud

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Certificate of title to Bunyangabu Block 84 Plot 11 acquired by the 2nd respondent cancelled.
  • 2nd respondent to pay the taxed costs of the appeal and in the court below.

Rules and key headnotes

Land Registration — Unregistered Interests — Occupation Prior to Registration
Where persons occupy land and have lived on it for many years with crops and homes, they possess unregistered interests which can be defeated by subsequent registration of title by another person.
Land Registration — Fraud — Defeating Unregistered Interests
It is fraud to acquire title to defeat the unregistered interest of another person of which the acquiring party has or should have knowledge.
Land Registration — Fraud — Non-Compliance with Preliminary Requirements
Where no survey or inspection was conducted before registration, and the registered proprietor claimed the land was empty when it was under occupation, such non-compliance combined with defeating unregistered interests amounts to fraud attributable to the registered proprietor.
Burden and Standard of Proof — Fraud
The burden is upon the party alleging fraud to strictly prove that fraud, and although the standard of proof may not be so heavy as to require proof beyond reasonable doubt, something more than a mere balance of probabilities is required.
Land Registration — Section 184 Registration of Titles Act — Exception to Indefeasibility
Under section 184 of the Registration of Titles Act, an action for recovery of land will lie against a registered proprietor where a person has been deprived of land by fraud as against the person registered as proprietor through fraud or as against a person deriving otherwise than as a transferee bona fide for value from or through a person registered through fraud.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (5)

  • Kazzora v Rukuba (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 13 of 1992)
  • Kampala Bottlers Ltd v Damanico (U) Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 22 of 1992)
  • Patel v Makanji [1957] EA 315
  • Katarikawe v Katwiremu (1977) HCB 189
  • Matovu and Others v Senviri and Another (1979) HCB 174

Full judgment

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

Mattee and Others v Bwambale and Another (CIVIL APPEAL NO. DR. MFP 17_99) [2001] UGHC 118 (10 May 2001)
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.