Wakilii

Muliro Wanga Karim v Wakalawo Sam Paul (Election Petition Application No.9 of 2017)

Court of Appeal · [2017] UGCA 11 · 2017 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application by notice of motion for extension of time to file and serve a memorandum of appeal in an election petition appeal
Decision
Application for extension of time dismissed and notice of appeal struck out; no appeal lies

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal (single Justice) dismissed an application to extend time to file a memorandum of appeal in an election petition appeal. The Court held that election appeals are governed first by the Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Rules SI 141-2, which set strict timelines and provide no automatic extension upon a request for certified judgment or proceedings. The certified copy was available from 28 February 2017, yet the applicant still failed to file. The applicant and his counsel were guilty of inexcusable dilatory conduct and gross negligence. Time being of the essence in electoral matters, the application was frivolous and was dismissed with costs, and the notice of appeal was struck out.

Outcome

Application for extension of time dismissed and notice of appeal struck out; no appeal lies

Facts

The applicant was dissatisfied with a High Court judgment delivered on 14 December 2016 in an election petition. A notice of appeal was filed at the High Court on 21 December 2016 and lodged at the Court of Appeal registry the next day. Under the applicable rules the memorandum of appeal had to be filed within seven days of the notice, that is by 28 December 2016. The applicant claimed he could not formulate grounds or constitute the memorandum because the High Court had not availed a certified copy of the judgment and record of proceedings. The respondent showed that a certified copy of the judgment, dated 14 December 2016 and certified on 28 February 2017, was attached to the affidavit in reply, demonstrating availability from at least 28 February 2017. Despite this, neither the memorandum nor the record of appeal had been filed by the date of the ruling, and the applicant brought this application seeking an extension of time.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant had shown sufficient reason to justify an extension of time within which to file and serve the memorandum of appeal in an election petition appeal.
  2. Whether the failure to obtain a certified copy of the judgment and record of proceedings excused the late filing of the memorandum of appeal.

Orders

  • Application dismissed with costs to the respondent.
  • Notice of appeal struck out from the Court record.

Rules and key headnotes

Election Petition Appeals — Time for Filing Memorandum of Appeal — Applicable Rules
Appeals from High Court decisions on parliamentary election petitions are governed first and foremost by the Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Rules SI 141-2, under which a memorandum of appeal must be filed within seven days after a written notice of appeal; the ordinary Court of Appeal Rules apply only with necessary modifications.
Election Petition Appeals — No Automatic Extension on Request for Certified Record
The Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Rules SI 141-2 do not provide for an automatic extension of time upon a request for a certified copy of the judgment or proceedings, unlike rule 83(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules which is inapplicable to election appeals.
Extension of Time — Sufficient Reason — Dilatory Conduct in Electoral Matters
In electoral matters time is of the essence and a party cannot rely on the fault of counsel to excuse delay; an intending appellant who fails to act vigilantly is guilty of inexcusable dilatory conduct and gross negligence, and the court will not exercise its discretion to extend time.
Extension of Time — Late Lodging of Documents and Consequential Regularisation
Under rule 13 of the Court of Appeal Rules a registrar must accept documents lodged out of time marked accordingly; an applicant ought therefore to have lodged the memorandum and record of appeal and then applied for consequential extension regularising the late filing rather than awaiting an order before filing.

Legislation cited (12)

  • Court of Appeal Rules r.2(1)
  • Court of Appeal Rules r.5
  • Court of Appeal Rules r.13
  • Court of Appeal Rules r.43
  • Court of Appeal Rules r.44(1)
  • Court of Appeal Rules r.83
  • Parliamentary Elections Act 2005
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Rules SI 141-2 r.28
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Rules SI 141-2 r.29
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Rules SI 141-2 r.30
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Rules SI 141-2 r.31
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Rules SI 141-2 r.36

Cases cited (2)

  • Abiriga Ibrahim v Musema Mudathir Bruce (Election Application No. 24 of 2016)
  • Kirya Grace Wazala v Daudi Migereko and Another (Election Reference Appeal No. 39 of 2012)

Full judgment

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Muliro Wanga Karim v Wakalawo Sam Paul (Election Petition Application No.9 of 2017) [2017] UGCA 11 (12 May 2017)
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.