Wakilii

Mugerwa v Muzzha [2025] UGHC 250

High Court · 2025 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to set aside ex parte judgment arising from Civil Suit No. 468 of 2021
Decision
Application dismissed for containing fundamental falsehood in supporting affidavit

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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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

Application to set aside ex parte judgment dismissed. The court found that the applicant's affidavit contained a blatant lie — he claimed never to have been served and never to have filed a defence, yet the court record showed a Written Statement of Defence filed on his behalf by his advocates. Affidavits containing fundamental falsehoods render applications untenable.

Outcome

Application dismissed for containing fundamental falsehood in supporting affidavit

Facts

The applicant, Mugerwa Geoffrey, applied to set aside an ex parte judgment in Civil Suit No. 468 of 2021. He claimed he was never served with summons to file a defence and only learned of the suit when the respondent threatened eviction. The respondent opposed, stating that the applicant was duly represented by M/S Ambrose Tebyasa & Co. Advocates who filed a joint Written Statement of Defence on 23 June 2021 on behalf of both the applicant and Millennium Estates Developers Ltd. The court record confirmed the existence of this defence.

Issues

  1. Whether the application to set aside the ex parte judgment should be granted where the applicant claimed non-service of summons.
  2. Whether an application founded on an affidavit containing a fundamental falsehood can succeed.

Orders

  • Application dismissed with costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Applications to Set Aside — Affidavits Containing Falsehoods
An application to set aside an ex parte judgment will be dismissed where the supporting affidavit contains a fundamental falsehood, such as a claim of non-service when the court record shows the applicant was represented and filed a defence.
Evidence — Affidavits — Duty of Truthfulness
Truth is the only acceptable currency in a court of law and persons who deliberately deceive the court by filing affidavits containing falsehoods are not welcome and their applications will be dismissed.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (1)

  • Besigye Kiiza v Museveni Yoweri Kaguta and Another (Supreme Court Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 2001)

Full judgment

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Mugerwa v Muzzha 2025 UGHC 250 (30 April 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.