Wakilii

Mbabazi Akiiki v Rubanga and Another (Misc Cause 8 of 2023)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 88 · 2025 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to remove caveats lodged on registered land and for permanent injunction
Decision
Caveats removed and permanent injunction granted against further caveats on the suit land

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that a caveator who lodges caveats on registered land but fails to file a claim in court for over four years to prove his rights has not shown cause why the caveats should remain. Caveats are intended to offer temporary protection pending proof of claims, not to subsist in perpetuity. The court found no evidence of any civil suit filed by the caveator and ordered the caveats vacated to enable the registered proprietor to deal with the land.

Outcome

Caveats removed and permanent injunction granted against further caveats on the suit land

Facts

The Applicant was the registered proprietor of land comprised in LRV 2119, Folio 17 at Nyakaihura, Kyabigambire-Bugahya Block 16, Plot 435. He subdivided the land and sold 41.168 hectares to William Nyamutale, leaving 34.632 hectares registered to himself. On 3 December 2020, the 1st Respondent lodged caveats on both portions of the land. The 1st Respondent claimed to be a holder of powers of attorney and beneficiary of the estate of his mother, Mary Kalekwa, who he alleged was a bonafide tenant on the land. He claimed the Applicant was fraudulently registered as proprietor in 1993 without knowledge of lawful bonafide occupants, and that the subsequent sale to Nyamutale in 2013 was also fraudulent. However, over four years since lodging the caveats, the 1st Respondent had not filed any claim or suit in court to prove his rights in the land.

Issues

  1. Whether the 1st Respondent has shown cause why the caveats should not be removed.

Orders

  • Application allowed.
  • The Commissioner Land Registration directed to remove or vacate the caveats lodged by the 1st Respondent on 3rd December 2020 on land comprised in LRV 2119, Plot 435, Folio 17 land at Nyakaihura Kyabigambire Bugahya Block 16, and LRV MAS 3, Folio 22, Bugahya Block 16, Plot 434 land at Nyakaihura, Kyabigambire, Bugahya County, Hoima District that was curved out of plot 435.
  • A permanent injunction issued restraining the Respondents and any of their agents or persons drawing authority from or in relation to them from lodging any further caveats on the suit land.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Caveats — Purpose and Duration — Temporary Protection Pending Proof of Claims
A caveat is intended to serve a two-fold purpose: to give the caveator temporary protection, and to give notice of the nature of the claim to the person whose estate in the land is affected and to the world at large. Caveats are not meant to subsist in perpetuity as they are intended to offer temporary protection to a claimant pending proving of his or her claims and or disposal of their suits, if any.
Caveats — Removal — Burden on Caveator to Show Cause
Under Section 140 of the Registration of Titles Act, where a proprietor summons a caveator to show cause why a caveat should not be removed, the burden is on the caveator to demonstrate a valid caveatable interest. A caveator who has lodged caveats for over four years without filing any claim or suit in court to prove his rights has failed to show cause why the caveats should remain.
Evidence — Affidavit Evidence — Failure to Attach Documentary Proof
It is not sufficient to merely state in an affidavit that civil suits were filed without attaching evidence of the same. Where a party claims to have filed suits in support of their position, the failure to adduce proof of such suits on record is fatal to that claim.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (1)

  • Boyes v Gathure [1969] EA 385

Full judgment

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

Mbabazi Akiiki v Rubanga and Another (Misc Cause 8 of 2023) [2025] UGHC 88 (10 February 2025)
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.