Wakilii

Mpairwe and 2 Others v Byarhanga (Civil Appeal 21 of 2023)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 84 · 2025 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from judgment of Magistrate Grade I, Buliisa, in Civil Suit No. 2/2018
Decision
Appeal dismissed with costs. Respondent confirmed as lawful owner of the suit land and entitled to compensation therefrom. Order for delivery of vacant possession to Respondent affirmed.

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

Held that where a vendor fails to deliver land under an initial sale agreement and offers alternative land in substitution, which the purchaser accepts and which is documented in a handover agreement signed by both parties, the purchaser becomes the lawful owner of the substitute land. The Parole Evidence Rule under Evidence Act s.92 excludes oral evidence to vary or contradict a written agreement. A party cannot depart from pleadings to raise new claims such as duress or coercion which were not pleaded. Appeal dismissed.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed with costs. Respondent confirmed as lawful owner of the suit land and entitled to compensation therefrom. Order for delivery of vacant possession to Respondent affirmed.

Facts

In September 2016, the Respondent purchased 12 acres of land from the 1st Appellant for UGX 20,000,000 under a sale agreement. In January 2019, when the Respondent went to inspect the land, he discovered the 2nd Appellant (husband of the 1st Appellant) had sold it to other buyers. The 2nd Appellant apologised and offered the Respondent alternative land partly covered with a big stone (the suit land), which the Respondent accepted and a handover document was executed. In 2018, the 1st and 2nd Appellants sold the same suit land to the 3rd Appellant. The Respondent alleged the Appellants connived to deprive him of the land so the 3rd Appellant could claim compensation from the Government for stones needed for road construction. The trial Magistrate found in favour of the Respondent and ordered the 3rd Appellant to deliver vacant possession. The Appellants appealed, arguing the trial Magistrate failed to properly evaluate the evidence and that there was no valid substitution of the originally purchased land with the suit land.

Issues

  1. Whether the trial Magistrate properly evaluated the evidence to conclude that the suit land belongs to the Respondent.
  2. Whether there was valid substitution of the originally purchased land with the suit land.
  3. Whether the trial Magistrate erred in ordering the 3rd Appellant to hand over vacant possession of the suit land to the Respondent.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the Respondent.
  • Declaration that the suit land situate at Itutwe village, Waaki Parish, Kihungya sub-county, Buliisa District belongs to the Respondent.
  • Respondent entitled to any compensation from the suit land.
  • Order that the 3rd Appellant hand over vacant possession of the suit land to the Respondent affirmed.

Rules and key headnotes

Contract Law — Land Sale — Substitution of Subject Matter — Acceptance of Alternative Property
Where a vendor fails to deliver land under an initial sale agreement and offers alternative land in substitution, and the purchaser accepts the substitute land and a handover document is executed documenting the change in location and boundaries, a valid substitution occurs and the purchaser becomes the lawful owner of the substitute land.
Evidence — Parole Evidence Rule — Variation of Written Agreement — Evidence Act s.92
Under Evidence Act s.92, oral evidence cannot be admitted to vary, contradict, add to, or subtract from the terms of a written agreement. A party who has executed a sale agreement stating that consideration was paid in cash cannot later adduce oral evidence claiming the purchase price was not fully paid.
Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Departure from Pleadings — Civil Procedure Rules O.6 r.7
Civil Procedure Rules O.6 r.7 prohibits parties from departing from their pleadings by raising new claims not founded in or inconsistent with what is pleaded. A defence of duress or coercion cannot be raised for the first time in evidence if it was not pleaded in the written statement of defence.
Evidence — Burden of Proof — Proof of Title — Written Agreement
Where a defendant claims to have purchased land from a plaintiff but fails to produce a sale agreement or any documentary evidence of purchase despite being given leave by the court to do so, and the defendant's own evidence contradicts the claim of ownership, the court is entitled to find that the defendant has no interest in the land.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Duty of First Appellate Court — Re-evaluation of Evidence
A first appellate court is required to subject the evidence as a whole to fresh and exhaustive scrutiny, making its own inferences on all issues of law and fact, bearing in mind that it did not see the witnesses testify.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (3)

  • Fr. Narcensio Begumisa and Others v Eric Tibebaga (SCCA No. 17 of 2002)
  • Jani Properties Ltd v Dar-es-Salaam City Council [1966] EA 281
  • D.S.S Motors Ltd v Afri Tours & Travel Ltd and Another (HCCS No. 12 of 2003)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Mpairwe and 2 Others v Byarhanga (Civil Appeal 21 of 2023) [2025] UGHC 84 (3 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.