Wakilii

Mufumbiro and 4 Others v Uganda Electricity Transmission (Civil Suit No. 360 of 2007)

High Court · [2022] UGHCLD 91 · 2022 Judgment for Defendant AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for permanent injunction and damages arising from alleged threats of eviction
Decision
Suit struck out for failure to disclose a cause of action

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the plaint did not disclose a cause of action against the defendant. The notices complained of were general public warnings issued pursuant to statutory duty under the Electricity Act, not specific acts against the plaintiffs. No right of the plaintiffs vis-à-vis the defendant was established in the pleadings. The suit was struck out with costs to the defendant.

Outcome

Suit struck out for failure to disclose a cause of action

Facts

52 plaintiffs, represented by five named individuals, claimed to be bonafide occupants and legal owners of land in Block 5 Triangle Zone Mulago II Parish, Kawempe Division, where they had built residences and lived for over 40 years. The defendant utility company published general public notices between 2005 and 2007 warning that activities under or within 15 meters of high voltage power lines (66-132 KV) were prohibited under section 87 of the Electricity Act 1999, and requiring removal of structures within 60 days. The plaintiffs alleged these notices constituted threats to demolish their residences and evict them without following proper procedure. They sought a permanent injunction and damages for trespass. The defendant pleaded that the notices were general public warnings issued in discharge of statutory duty, not specific to the plaintiffs, and that the plaint disclosed no cause of action.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaint discloses a cause of action

Orders

  • Plaint rejected and struck down for failure to disclose a cause of action.
  • Costs awarded to the defendant.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Cause of Action — Requirements for Establishing
A plaint must disclose on its face that the plaintiff enjoyed a right, that the right was violated, and that the violation was by the defendant. The existence of a cause of action is determined by examining the plaint and any annexures only, not the evidence adduced at trial.
Civil Procedure — Rejection of Plaint — Failure to Disclose Cause of Action
Where a plaint does not disclose a cause of action, it is mandatory for the court to reject it under Order 7 Rule 11(a) of the Civil Procedure Rules. A general public notice issued by a statutory body in discharge of its statutory duty, which does not name specific plaintiffs or their properties, cannot form the basis of a cause of action for trespass or threatened eviction.
Administrative Law — Statutory Duty — Public Warnings by Statutory Bodies
A statutory company mandated to transmit electricity across the country and empowered under section 87 of the Electricity Act to warn the public of dangers from high voltage transmission wires acts in discharge of statutory duty when it publishes general public notices. Such notices, absent specific targeting of individuals or properties, do not constitute actionable wrongs.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (4)

  • Auto Garage v Motokov (No. 3) [1971] EA 514
  • Kapeka Coffee Works Ltd v NPART (Civil Appeal No. 3 of 2002)
  • [2018] UGHCLD 50
  • Selina Sheehan versus Hafez Mohammad, Fatch Nashit

Full judgment

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

Mufumbiro_and_4_Others_v_Uganda_Electricity_Transmission_(Civil_Suit_No._360_of_2007)_[2022]_UGHCLD_91_(18_February_2022)
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.