Wakilii

Ms Buhuka Communal Land Association v Abdul Karim (Miscellaneous Application 123 of 2023)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 91 · 2025 Application Granted — Judgment Reviewed and Set Aside AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for review of judgment and decree arising from Civil Suit No. 162 of 2022
Decision
Judgment in Civil Suit No. 162 of 2022 reviewed and set aside; applicant to be joined as a party for fresh adjudication

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that an affidavit in reply must be filed within 15 days of service of the application under Order 12 rule 3(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules; failure to obtain leave for late filing renders it liable to be struck out. The application for review was not barred by res judicata because the applicant was not a party to the original suit and the judgment in personam did not bind the applicant. The court found sufficient cause to review the judgment where the applicant had an uncontroverted registered interest in the land but was not aware of the suit and could not present material evidence, including its certificate of title and the investigative report that led to cancellation of the respondent's title. The judgment was reviewed and set aside with orders that the applicant be joined as a party.

Outcome

Judgment in Civil Suit No. 162 of 2022 reviewed and set aside; applicant to be joined as a party for fresh adjudication

Facts

The applicant, a communal land association covering five villages in Buhaguzi, applied to review the judgment in Civil Suit No. 162 of 2022 in which the court restored the respondent's certificate of title to land comprised in Block 3, FRV 469, Folio 17, Plot 37, Kiina. The applicant claimed the land was part of its communal land and that it held a certificate of title (FRV MAS 3, Folio 8, Plot 162). The respondent's title had been cancelled by the Commissioner Land Registration following an investigation by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. The applicant alleged the respondent was its member (No. 521 in the register book) and had concealed material evidence during the original suit. The applicant was not aware of Civil Suit No. 162 of 2022 and only learned of the judgment when it saw people measuring the land, leading to a protest and police intervention.

Issues

  1. Whether the affidavit in reply filed 46 days after service of the application was competent.
  2. Whether the application for review is barred by the doctrine of res judicata.
  3. Whether there is sufficient cause or reason to review and set aside the judgment in Civil Suit No. 162 of 2022.

Orders

  • The affidavit in reply filed by the respondent is struck out for being filed out of time.
  • The judgment in Civil Suit No. 162 of 2022 is reviewed and set aside.
  • The applicant is to be made a party to Civil Suit No. 162 of 2022 for adjudication of the controversy surrounding the acquisition and cancellation of the respondent's certificate of title.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Affidavit in Reply — Time Limits — Filing Out of Time Without Leave
An affidavit in reply to an interlocutory application must be filed within 15 days from the date of service of the application under Order 12 rule 3(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules. An affidavit in reply filed out of time without leave of court is liable to be struck out.
Civil Procedure — Res Judicata — Judgment In Personam — Non-Party to Original Suit
A judgment in personam binds only the parties to the suit and does not bind the whole world. Where an applicant was not a party to the original suit and has uncontroverted evidence of interest in the subject matter, the doctrine of res judicata does not bar an application for review by that non-party.
Civil Procedure — Review of Judgment — Sufficient Cause — Non-Party with Interest in Subject Matter
Where an applicant has a registered interest in land that was the subject of a suit to which it was not a party and of which it had no knowledge, and the applicant could not present its certificate of title or material evidence (such as an investigative report leading to cancellation of the respondent's title) because it was not joined, this constitutes sufficient cause under section 82 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 46 rule 1(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules to review and set aside the judgment.
Civil Procedure — Joinder of Parties — Duty to Join Parties with Known Interest
A party ought to join persons with a known or reasonably ascertainable interest in the subject matter of a suit so that all controversies surrounding the matter are conclusively adjudicated upon and to avoid multiplicity of suits.

Legislation cited (8)

Cases cited (8)

  • Kanyabwera v Tumwebaze [2005] 2 EA 86
  • Fredrick James Jjunju v Madhivan Group Ltd & Anor (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 688 of 2015)
  • Kiwanuka Erick v Centenary Rural Development Bank Ltd & 2 Ors (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 232 of 2022)
  • Dr. Lam Lagoro v Muni University (Miscellaneous Application No. 007 of 2016)
  • Stop & See (U) Ltd v Tropical Africa Bank (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 333 of 2010)
  • Ramgarhia Sikh Society & 2 Ors v The Ramgarhia Sikh Education Society Ltd & Ors (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 352 of 2015)
  • James Katabazi & 21 Ors v Secretary General of the East Africa Community & Anor (East African Court of Justice Reference No. 1 of 2007)
  • Edison Kanyabwera v Tumwebaze (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 6 of 2004) [2005] 2 EA 86

Full judgment

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Ms Buhuka Communal Land Association v Abdul Karim (Miscellaneous Application 123 of 2023) [2025] UGHC 91 (17 January 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.