Wakilii

Musoke & Another v Kalumba (REVISION CAUSE NO. 9 OF 2019)

High Court · [2020] UGHCCD 109 · 2020 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for revision of Chief Magistrate's Court order dismissing application to set aside ex parte judgment
Decision
Judgment and orders of the Chief Magistrate's Court declared null and void and set aside

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that proceedings conducted by a person not on the Roll of Advocates are illegal and null and void under the Advocates Act. An illegality overrides all questions of pleading and admission. The judgment, ruling and orders of the Chief Magistrate's Court were set aside as having been prosecuted by a person who was not an enrolled Advocate and therefore not authorized to appear in court.

Outcome

Judgment and orders of the Chief Magistrate's Court declared null and void and set aside

Facts

The respondent sued the applicants in the Chief Magistrate's Court of Nabweru in Civil Suit No. 105 of 2017. The respondent obtained an ex parte judgment which the applicants alleged was based on a false affidavit of service. The applicants were arrested and committed to civil prison in execution of the decree. They then filed Miscellaneous Application No. 62 of 2019 to set aside the ex parte judgment, which was dismissed by the trial court. The applicants brought this revision application. In their affidavit in rejoinder, the applicants raised that the person who appeared for the respondent in both the main suit and the application, Mr. Oriokot Emmanuel, was not an enrolled Advocate. They obtained confirmation from the Chief Registrar that Mr. Oriokot Emmanuel was not on the Roll of Advocates. The court treated this as a preliminary objection on a point of law.

Issues

  1. Whether a person not on the Roll of Advocates who appeared and prosecuted proceedings before the trial court renders those proceedings illegal and void
  2. Whether the trial court failed to exercise jurisdiction vested in it in Miscellaneous Application No. 62 of 2019

Orders

  • Preliminary objection sustained with costs.
  • Judgment and orders of the Chief Magistrate's Court set aside with costs to the Applicants.
  • Application allowed with costs to the Applicants.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Representation by Unqualified Person — Effect on Proceedings
Proceedings conducted by a person not on the Roll of Advocates are illegal and null and void under Section 64(1) of the Advocates Act Cap 267, which makes it an offence for any person other than an advocate to act as an advocate or to commence, carry on or defend any proceedings in court.
Civil Procedure — Illegality — Effect on Proceedings and Pleadings
An illegality once brought to the attention of the court overrides all questions of pleading, including any admission made thereon. A court of law cannot sanction what is illegal.
Civil Procedure — Preliminary Objection — Raising Issues of Law at Any Stage
Issues of law may be raised at any time, including in written submissions. Where issues both of law and fact arise in the same suit, and the court is of opinion that the case may be disposed of on issues of law only, it shall try those issues first pursuant to Order 15 rule 2 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
Administrative Law — Roll of Advocates — Chief Registrar as Custodian
The Chief Registrar of the Courts of Judicature is the custodian of the Roll of Advocates which contains names of all enrolled Advocates authorized to practice in courts in Uganda. A letter from the Chief Registrar confirming that a person is not on the Roll of Advocates is sufficient proof that such person is not an advocate within the meaning of the Advocates Act.

Legislation cited (10)

Cases cited (1)

  • Makula International Ltd v Cardinal Nsubuga & Another (1982) HCB 11

Full judgment

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

Musoke & Another v Kalumba (REVISION CAUSE NO. 9 OF 2019) [2020] UGHCCD 109 (15 May 2020)
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.