Wakilii

Miriam Onyango v Betty Zalwango Katusiime and Others [2026] UGHC 664

High Court · 2026 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Interlocutory application by notice of motion in a pending civil suit seeking appointment of an interim manager and restraining orders
Decision
Application for appointment of an interim manager and restraining orders dismissed; main suit (Civil Suit No. 033 of 2025) remains pending

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The court held that the principles governing temporary injunctions did not apply to an application to appoint an interim manager of a private school. Neither the Education (Pre-primary, Primary and Post Primary) Act nor any other statute empowered the court to place a private school under the management of the Commissioner Primary Education; s.42 of that Act confers intervention powers on the Commissioner alone. Although inherent powers under s.98 of the Civil Procedure Act and s.37 of the Judicature Act may be invoked where existing law is inadequate, the court would not impose a management obligation on an entity that had not consented, and the applicant had nominated no suitable manager. An order barring the registrar from performing statutory registration functions was also refused. Application dismissed.

Outcome

Application for appointment of an interim manager and restraining orders dismissed; main suit (Civil Suit No. 033 of 2025) remains pending

Facts

The applicant is the registered proprietor of land at Katabi, Entebbe on which a school operates. She and the 1st Respondent, a longtime friend, started the school in the mid-2000s, with the applicant entrusting management to the 1st Respondent while she studied in the United Kingdom. The applicant alleged that in 2011 the 1st Respondent incorporated Skylands Nursery and Primary School Entebbe Limited (the 2nd Respondent) and registered it with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau without her knowledge, forging her signature on corporate documents, and between 2014 and 2022 created mortgages over her land, obtaining about UGX 680,000,000. She said she was excluded from the school's affairs from 2021 and discovered the mortgages through a 2024 land search; a police forensic report allegedly confirmed forgery. She sued in Civil Suit No. 033 of 2025 and applied for the Commissioner Primary Education to be appointed interim manager, for restraining orders against the 1st Respondent, and to bar further registration of company documents. The 1st Respondent denied forgery, asserted the applicant consented to incorporation and the mortgages, and contended that a private school could not be taken over by government.

Issues

  1. Whether the application disclosed sufficient grounds for an order placing the 2nd Respondent private school under the interim management of the Commissioner Primary Education pending determination of the main suit.
  2. Whether the court could restrain the 1st Respondent from involvement in the affairs of the 2nd Respondent pending determination of the main suit.
  3. Whether the court could restrain the Uganda Registration Services Bureau from registering or admitting any further company documents of the 2nd Respondent.
  4. What remedies were available to the parties.

Orders

  • Orders (a), (b) and (c) sought in the notice of motion declined.
  • Order (d) restraining the 3rd Respondent from further registration or admission of company documents declined.
  • The application is dismissed.
  • No order as to costs; each party to bear their own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Interim Relief — Appointment of Interim Manager — Inapplicability of Temporary Injunction Principles
The settled conditions for granting a temporary injunction (prima facie case, irreparable injury and balance of convenience) do not govern an application to appoint an interim manager of a company or institution, which raises distinct considerations of jurisdiction and practicability.
Statutory Interpretation — Education (Pre-primary, Primary and Post Primary) Act s.42 — Absence of Power to Place Private School under Court-Appointed Ministry Management
The Education (Pre-primary, Primary and Post Primary) Act contains no provision empowering a court to appoint the Commissioner Primary Education to manage a private school; the power to intervene, close a school or appoint a statutory manager under s.42 vests in the Commissioner in the circumstances there specified.
Civil Procedure — Inherent Powers — Civil Procedure Act s.98 and Judicature Act s.37 — Scope and Judicious Exercise
The inherent powers conferred by s.98 of the Civil Procedure Act and s.37 of the Judicature Act may be resorted to where existing law does not adequately address the problem at hand, but they must be exercised judiciously and cannot supply a power that would impose an obligation on a non-consenting entity.
Company Law — Management Disputes — Appointment of Interim Manager — Requirement of a Nominated and Consenting Appointee
A court will not appoint a person or entity as interim manager of a business without evidence of that appointee's consent, and an applicant seeking such relief must assist the court by nominating a suitable person or entity undertaking to perform the role.
Administrative Law — Statutory Bodies — Restraining Orders against Exercise of Statutory Registration Functions
A court will not issue an order restraining a statutory body responsible for registration of documents from receiving or registering documents, as such an order would bar the exercise of its statutory functions.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (10)

  • Rashida Abdul Hanali and Another v Suleiman Adrisi (Miscellaneous Application No. 001 of 2017)
  • Giella Vs Cassaman Brown & Co. Ltd (1973) EA 358
  • Godfrey Sekitoleko and 4 Others v Seezi Peter and 2 Others (Civil Appeal No. 65 of 2001)
  • Aziz Kalungi Kasujja v Naune Tebekanya Nakakande (Civil Appeal No. 63 of 1995)
  • City Council of Kampala v Donozio Musisi Sekyaya (Civil Application No. 3 of 2000)
  • American Cyanamid Co. V Ethicon Ltd [1975] AC 396
  • American Cynamid Vs Ethicon [1975] ALLER 504
  • E.L.T Kiyimba VS Haji Abdu Nasser Katende [1985] HCB 43
  • Good African Foundation Ltd and Another v Agricultural Business Initiative Trust (Miscellaneous Application No. 1592 of 2021)
  • Yahaya Kariisa v Attorney General and Another (Civil Appeal No. 7 of 1994)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Miriam Onyango v Betty Zalwango Katusiime and Others [2026] UGHC 664 (4 June 2026)
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.