Wakilii

Migadde Habib v Nalongo Estate Limited (Civil Suit No. 1513 of 2024; Miscellaneous Application No. 88 of 2024)

High Court · [2025] UGCOMMC 366 · 2025 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for unconditional leave to appear and defend a summary suit for recovery of liquidated sum
Decision
Application for leave to appear and defend dismissed; applicant denied leave to defend the underlying summary suit

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court dismissed the application for leave to appear and defend a summary suit for recovery of UGX 400,000,000 being the outstanding balance on a land sale agreement. The applicant failed to demonstrate a triable issue, having alleged breach of an implied term requiring specific land characteristics (two acres waterlogged, three acres dry) that was not contained in the written sale agreement and was unsupported by evidence. The burden of proof under Evidence Act s.106(1) required the applicant to prove the existence of the alleged contractual term, which he failed to do.

Outcome

Application for leave to appear and defend dismissed; applicant denied leave to defend the underlying summary suit

Facts

The respondent sold five acres of land comprised in Kyadondo Block 189 Plot 135 at Seta to the applicant for UGX 1,150,000,000. The applicant paid UGX 750,000,000, leaving an outstanding balance of UGX 400,000,000. The respondent filed a summary suit to recover the balance. The applicant applied for leave to appear and defend, alleging breach of contract on the ground that the respondent failed to provide two acres in a waterlogged area and three acres on dry land as allegedly agreed. The written sale agreement dated 17 April 2024 contained no express term specifying the nature or location of the land parcels. The applicant relied on WhatsApp messages showing differential pricing (UGX 200,000,000 for two acres and UGX 250,000,000 for three acres) but these messages did not specify that the pricing difference related to waterlogged versus dry land.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant has disclosed a triable issue of fact or law thereby entitling them to a grant of leave to appear and defend Civil Suit No. 1513 of 2024?

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Summary Suits — Leave to Appear and Defend — Test for Grant of Leave
For an applicant to be granted leave to appear and defend a summary suit, the applicant must show by affidavit or otherwise that there is a bona fide triable issue of fact or law, and must set out with clarity and particularity the material facts to warrant a trial.
Contract Law — Express Terms — Enforceability — Requirement for Binding Terms
For a term in a contract to be binding and enforceable, such term ought to be an express term contained therein. An express term creates a legally enforceable agreement between the parties and the parties must have had an intention to be legally bound.
Evidence — Burden of Proof — Civil Proceedings — Proof of Contractual Terms
In civil proceedings, the burden of proof lies upon he who alleges. Where a party alleges the existence of a contractual term, that party bears the burden of producing evidence to prove the existence of that term.
Civil Procedure — Summary Suits — Leave to Defend — Duty to Attach Relevant Documents
An applicant for leave to appear and defend has a duty to set out with clarity and particularity the material facts to warrant a trial, including attaching copies of relevant agreements and highlighting specific provisions alleged to have been breached.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (5)

  • Mugoya Muwazi v Buyinza John (HCMA No. 1162 of 2014)
  • Makula Interglobal Trade Agency Ltd vs Bank of Uganda
  • Maluku Interglobal Trade Agency v Bank of Uganda [1985] HCB 65
  • Cwezi Properties Limited v Tulip Consultancy Limited (Civil Appeal No. 124 of 2015)
  • Nakana Trading Co. Ltd v Coffee Marketing Board (Civil Suit No. 137 of 1991)

Full judgment

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

Migadde Habib v Nalongo Estate Limited (Civil Suit No. 1513 of 2024; Miscellaneous Application No. 88 of 2024) [2025] UGCommC 366 (8 October 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.