Wakilii

Mpanga Mukasa and Another ( Administrators of the estate of the late Kisitu) v Kizza Barya (Civil Miscellaneous Application No. 479 of 2021)

High Court · [2021] UGHCLD 93 · 2021 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for stay of execution of judgment in HCCS No. 811 of 2018 pending determination of appeal
Decision
Stay of execution granted pending determination of appeal to the Court of Appeal

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held that the applicants satisfied all four conditions for a grant of stay of execution pending appeal. The notice of appeal was filed within time when calculated from the date of email transmission of the judgment under COVID-19 online hearing guidelines. The applicants would suffer substantial loss as the suit land was at risk of permanent alienation through execution of self-executing decrees. No separate security for costs was required as the respondent already held the certificate of title for the suit property, which could serve as security. The application for stay of execution was granted with costs to abide the outcome of the appeal.

Outcome

Stay of execution granted pending determination of appeal to the Court of Appeal

Facts

The applicants, as administrators of the estate of the late Christopher Kisitu Mukasa, had instituted High Court Civil Suit No. 811 of 2018 against the respondent seeking recovery of certificates of title for land at Kibuga Block 11, plot 796 at Kabowa and Kyadondo Block 71 plot 96 at Bujumbo and Sengo. Judgment in that suit was entered in favour of the respondent on 25 January 2021. The judgment orders directed that if the applicants failed to settle the decretal sums within 120 days, the respondent could execute a sale of the suit property. The certificates of title for both properties were in the custody of the respondent. The applicants filed a notice of appeal on 23 February 2021 and an application for stay of execution on 18 March 2021. The respondent contended that the notice of appeal had been filed out of time and that execution could not proceed until a bill of costs was taxed. The judgment was transmitted to the parties by email on 10 February 2021 under the judiciary's COVID-19 online hearing guidelines.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants filed a notice of appeal within the prescribed time limit.
  2. Whether the applicants will suffer substantial loss if stay of execution is not granted.
  3. Whether the application for stay of execution was made without unreasonable delay.
  4. Whether the applicants have given security for due performance of the decree.

Orders

  • The applicants be granted a stay of execution of the judgment and decree in High Court Civil Suit No. 811 of 2018 pending determination of the applicants' appeal in the Court of Appeal.
  • Costs of this application to abide the outcome of the appeal.
  • Miscellaneous Application No. 480 of 2021 is overtaken by events.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Appeals — Notice of Appeal — Time Limits Under Online Hearing Guidelines
Where a judgment is transmitted to parties by email under the Guidelines for Online Hearings in the Judiciary of Uganda (Office Instruction No. 2 of 2020), time for filing a notice of appeal begins to run from the date of email transmission, not from the date judgment was delivered in court.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Substantial Loss — Permanent Alienation of Property
An applicant for stay of execution will suffer substantial loss where the subject matter is estate land of sentimental value at high risk of being permanently alienated to third parties through execution of self-executing decrees before determination of the appeal, rendering the appeal nugatory.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Threat of Execution — Self-Executing Decrees
Where a decree is self-executing and prescribes the time within which it is to be executed, the decree itself constitutes a threat of execution and an applicant need not wait until a bill of costs is filed and taxed for the threat to crystallize.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Security for Costs — Certificate of Title in Respondent's Possession
An applicant for stay of execution need not provide separate security for due performance of the decree where the successful party already holds the certificate of title for the suit property, as such certificate can suffice as appropriate security.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Unreasonable Delay — Two Months After Judgment
An application for stay of execution filed less than two months after judgment, where no objection is raised by the respondent regarding delay, is not made with unreasonable delay.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (14)

  • Kyazze v Businge (Supreme Court Civil Application No. 18 of 1990)
  • Ssekikubo and Others v Attorney General and Others (Constitutional Application No. 03 of 2014)
  • Singh v Runda Coffee Estates Ltd [1966] EA
  • Ujagar Singh v Runda Coffee Estates Ltd [1966] EA 26
  • Sengendo v Busulwa and Another (Court of Appeal Civil Application No. 207 of 2014)
  • Editor in Chief of the New Vision Newspaper v Ntabgoba (Court of Appeal Civil Application No. 63 of 2004)
  • Pan African Insurance Co. (U) Ltd v International Air Transport Association (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 86 of 2006)
  • Uganda Bookshop Ltd and Another v Makumbi (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 101 of 2018)
  • Tropical Commodities Supplies Ltd and 2 Others v International Credit Bank Ltd (In Liquidation) [2004] 2 EA 331
  • SBI International Holdings AG (U) Ltd v COF International Co. Ltd (Court of Appeal Civil Application No. 183 of 2018)
  • Banco Arabe Espanol v Bank of Uganda (Civil Appeal No. 42 of 1998)
  • John Murray (Publishers) Ltd and 10 Others v Senkindu and Another (High Court Civil Suit No. 1018 of 1997)
  • Apollinaris Company's Trade Marks [1891] 1 Ch 1
  • Mugenyi & Co. Advocates v National Insurance Corporation (Civil Appeal No. 13 of 1984)

Full judgment

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

Mpanga_Mukasa_and_Another_(_Administrators_of_the_estate_of_the_late_Kisitu)_v_Kizza_Barya_(Civil_Miscellaneous_Application_No._479_of_2021)_[2021]_UGHCLD_93_(10_May_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.