Wakilii

Mawejje v Makumbi Banalya Yawe and Another (Civil Suit No. 299 of 2014)

High Court · [2021] UGHCLD 150 · 2021 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for declaration of sole ownership and removal of caveats
Decision
Defendants' case dismissed; plaintiff declared sole owner; caveats ordered removed; damages and costs awarded to plaintiff

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that the plaintiff, as registered proprietor, is the sole owner of the suit property. The late testator had made an inter vivos gift of the property to the plaintiff in 1985, perfected by registration. A subsequent bequest in the testator's will could not revoke a completed gift. The first defendant was not named as a beneficiary under the will. The second defendant's claim based on a life interest bequeathed to the testator's widow was rejected because the widow held only a life tenancy which terminated on her death, with the property reverting to the plaintiff as the remainder man. The defendants' caveats were ordered removed and general damages awarded.

Outcome

Defendants' case dismissed; plaintiff declared sole owner; caveats ordered removed; damages and costs awarded to plaintiff

Facts

The plaintiff was the registered proprietor of land at Kibuga Block 10 Plot 917, Bukesa, Nakulabye. The defendants lodged caveats claiming interest in the property. The property originally belonged to the late Eryeza Ssebowa Yawe, father of both the plaintiff and the first defendant. In January 1985, the late Yawe transferred the property to the plaintiff, who became the registered proprietor. In November 1996, the late Yawe made a will bequeathing rooms on the property to various beneficiaries, including a life interest to his wife Florence Nambwayo Yawe, with the property to revert to the plaintiff upon her death. The first defendant was not named as a beneficiary. Florence Nambwayo Yawe later made her own will purporting to bequeath rooms to the second defendant. The plaintiff sought removal of the caveats and a declaration of sole ownership.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiff is the sole owner of the property.
  2. Whether the defendants have any interest in the property.
  3. What remedies are available to the parties.

Orders

  • A declaration that the Defendants have no caveatable interest in the suit land.
  • An order for de-registration of the caveats lodged by the defendants.
  • The Defendants to pay the Plaintiff General damages of UGX 25,000,000.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the Plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Land & Property — Registered Proprietorship — Certificate of Title as Conclusive Evidence of Ownership
Under Section 56 of the Registration of Titles Act, a certificate of title is conclusive evidence that the person named as proprietor is seized or possessed of the land, and production of the certificate is sufficient proof of ownership unless the case falls within the exceptions in Section 184.
Land & Property — Inter Vivos Gifts — Presumption of Advancement — Completed Gifts Cannot Be Revoked
Where property is transferred from a parent to a child and registered in the child's name, it is presumed to be a gift. Once a gift is perfected by completion of transfer and registration, the donee acquires absolute title and the gift cannot be revoked by the donor's subsequent change of feeling or by a later testamentary disposition purporting to bequeath the same property.
Succession & Estates — Testamentary Capacity — Testator Can Only Dispose of Property Belonging to Him
Under Section 36(1) of the Succession Act, a testator may only dispose by will of property belonging to him at the time of his death. Any attempt to dispose of property not belonging to the testator will pass no bequest to the named beneficiary, as no one can give away what does not belong to him.
Succession & Estates — Life Interests — Bequest for Life Confers Only Life Estate — Remainder Vests in Named Beneficiary
A bequest to a person for use during their natural lifetime confers only a life estate. The word 'use' during lifetime confines the estate to the life tenant and does not clothe them with power of disposition. Upon the death of the life tenant, the property reverts to the testator's estate or to the remainder man expressly designated in the will.
Succession & Estates — Life Tenant — No Power to Bequeath Property Subject to Life Interest
A life tenant has no power to dispose of or bequeath property in which they hold only a life interest. Any purported testamentary disposition by a life tenant of property subject to a life tenancy passes no interest to the named beneficiary.

Legislation cited (15)

Cases cited (16)

  • Kampala Bottlers Ltd v Damanico (U) Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 22 of 1992)
  • Hellen Okello v Akello Jennifer Ochan (Civil Appeal No. 84 of 2019)
  • Hyman v. Hyman, [1934] 4 D.L.R. 532 (S.C.C.)
  • Gascoigne v. Gascoigne [1918] 1 KB 223
  • Arthur Sajjabi v Catherine Namutebi Muyizzi and Another (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 25 of 2017)
  • S. Sarojlni Amma v. Velayudhan Pillai Sreekumar, AIR 2018 SCC5232; JT 2018 (10) SC 488
  • Asokan v. Lakshmikuty, (2007) 13 SCC 210
  • Rev. James Kyomukama and Another v Catherine Zaribwende and Another (High Court Civil Suit No. 1144 of 1997)
  • Goudie v Johnston, 109 Ind. 427 | 10 N.E.296
  • Hardy v. Mayhew 158 Cal.95 (Cal.1910)
  • [2020] UGHCFD 4
  • [2018] UGHCLD 55
  • [2013] UGHCLD
  • Adong Simon and Others v Opolot David (Soroti Civil Appeal No. 46 of 2013)
  • [1982] HCB 11
  • Francis Butagira Versus Deborah Namukasa (1992-1993) H.C.B 98

Full judgment

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

Mawejje_v_Makumbi_Banalya_Yawe_and_Another_(Civil_Suit_No._299_of_2014)_[2021]_UGHCLD_150_(29_October_2021)
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.