Wakilii

Nakawombe and Another v Streams of Life Church Limited and Others (HCT-00-LD-CS-2850-2016)

High Court · [2023] UGHCLD 277 · 2023 Judgment for Plaintiffs AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for cancellation of certificates of title on grounds of fraud
Decision
Certificate of title for Plot 34 & 35 cancelled and plaintiffs restored as registered owners; 1st and 2nd defendants ordered to vacate within 3 months; permanent injunction granted; damages and mesne profits awarded

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

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

The court held that the 1st defendant was fraudulently registered as owner of Plot 34 & 35 using a forged transfer form and through illegal removal of the plaintiffs' caveat. The sale agreement for Plot 34 & 35 was rescinded on grounds of fraud. The court applied the maxim that fraud unravels everything. The 1st defendant was lawfully registered as owner of Plot 3. The court ordered cancellation of the certificate of title for Plot 34 & 35 and restoration of the plaintiffs as registered owners.

Outcome

Certificate of title for Plot 34 & 35 cancelled and plaintiffs restored as registered owners; 1st and 2nd defendants ordered to vacate within 3 months; permanent injunction granted; damages and mesne profits awarded

Facts

The plaintiffs, as administrators of an estate, sought cancellation of certificates of title for two parcels of land (Plot 34 & 35 and Plot 3) on grounds of fraud. The defendants claimed they lawfully purchased the land pursuant to sale agreements dated 7 December 2007 and 30 July 2008. The plaintiffs had lodged a caveat on Plot 34 & 35 in April 2007. This caveat was removed on 21 August 2013 at 12:15pm, and the land was transferred to the 1st defendant one minute later at 12:16pm. A forensic document examiner concluded that the plaintiffs' signatures on the transfer form for Plot 34 & 35 were forged. The plaintiffs alleged they were illiterate and did not understand the documents they signed, but evidence showed they had previously signed English documents without translation when applying for letters of administration. For Plot 3, the plaintiffs could not prove forgery or illegal removal of a caveat.

Issues

  1. Whether there was a sale of the suit land between the plaintiffs and the 1st and 2nd defendants?
  2. Whether the sale was in conformity with the law?
  3. Whether the plaintiffs have a cause of action against the 2nd defendant?
  4. Whether the 3rd defendant lawfully executed his or her duties in regard to the suit property?
  5. Whether the 1st defendant was lawfully registered on the suit land?

Orders

  • The 1st defendant, Streams of Life Church Ltd, was fraudulently registered as owner of the land comprised in Busiro Block 498 Plot 34 and 35 at Buli, Wakiso District using a forged transfer form.
  • The Commissioner for Land Registration is directed to cancel a certificate of title in the name of the 1st defendant for land comprised in Busiro Block 498 Plot 34 and 35 at Buli, Wakiso District.
  • The Commissioner for Land Registration is directed to enter Nakawombe Robinah and Nakityo Jane (Administrators of the estate of the late Mirisento Nalongo Kidza) as registered owners of the land comprised in Busiro Block 498 Plot 34 and 35 at Buli, Wakiso District measuring approximately 12.20 Hectares.
  • The 1st and 2nd defendants shall vacate the land comprised in Busiro Block 498 Plot 34 and 35 at Buli, Wakiso District, and remove any illegal buildings within 3 months from the date of this judgment, in default of which, they shall be evicted.
  • A permanent injunction issues restraining the 1st and 2nd defendants, their agents, servants, workmen and all those claiming under them from trespassing, encroaching, interfering and/or in any way dealing with the land comprised in Busiro Block 498 Plot 34 and 35 at Buli, Wakiso District.
  • The 1st defendant was lawfully registered as owner of the land comprised in Busiro Block 498 Plot 3 at Buli, Wakiso District.
  • The 1st and 2nd defendants, jointly and/or severally, shall pay general damages of UGX 25,000,000 to the plaintiffs.
  • The 1st and 2nd defendants, jointly and/or severally, shall pay mesne profits of UGX 25,000,000 to the plaintiffs.
  • The 1st and 2nd defendants shall pay interest of 15% per annum on general damages and mesne profits from the date of judgment until payment in full.
  • The 1st and 2nd defendants, jointly and/or severally, shall pay costs of the suit to the plaintiffs.

Rules and key headnotes

Land & Property — Fraud — Forged Transfer Form — Effect on Registration
A forged transfer deed is a nullity and has no legal effect. Where fraud is proved, it unravels everything, including contracts and judgments. No court will allow a person to keep an advantage obtained by fraud.
Evidence — Expert Opinion — Handwriting Expert — Relevance and Weight
Under section 43 of the Evidence Act, the opinion of a handwriting expert is relevant in determining whether a document is forged. Where a handwriting expert concludes that signatures on a transfer form are forged and this evidence is largely unchallenged, the court may rely on it to find that the transfer form is forged.
Land & Property — Caveat — Illegal Removal — Effect on Registration
The illegal removal of a caveat in contravention of sections 140(2) and (3) of the Registration of Titles Act amounts to fraudulent conduct. The failure to observe the prescribed legal process for removal of a caveat removes the protection offered to the caveator by law.
Land & Property — Fraudulent Registration — Cancellation of Certificate of Title
Section 176(c) of the Registration of Titles Act provides for cancellation of a certificate of title obtained fraudulently. Section 177 vests powers in the High Court to direct the Commissioner to effect any order of cancellation of a certificate of title.
Land & Property — Mesne Profits — Wrongful Deprivation of Land
Where a party has been wrongfully deprived of ownership of land through use of a forged transfer form, that party is entitled to mesne profits, being those profits which the person in wrongful possession actually received or might with ordinary diligence have received from the property, together with interest on those profits.
Contract Law — Rescission — Fraud — Effect on Valid Sale Agreement
Where parties have entered into a valid sale agreement but the transferee subsequently uses a forged transfer form and illegally removes a caveat to procure registration, the entire transaction for sale of land from start to finish is unravelled by the fraud. The sale agreement must be rescinded even though it was validly executed.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (11)

  • Lazarus Estates Ltd v Beasley [1956] 1 QB 702
  • Kampala Bottlers Ltd v Damanico (U) Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 22 of 1992)
  • Nazmudin Gulam Hussein Viram v Nicholas Roussos (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 1 of 2006)
  • Shokatali Abdulla Dhalla v Sadrudin Meralli (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 32 of 1994)
  • Teopista Mugenze v Pascal Byron Mugenze and 2 Others (Civil Suit No. 166 of 1992)
  • Saul Kisiribombo Rumanda v Emmy Tumwine and 6 Others (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 19 of 2018)
  • Takhar v Gracefield Developments Ltd and Ors [2019] UKSC 13
  • Hilda Wilson Namusoke and 3 Others v Owalla's Home Investment Trust (E.A) Ltd and Commissioner for Land Registration (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 15 of 2017)
  • Collins v Blantern (1767) 2 Wils KB 342
  • Duchess of Kington's Case (1776) 1 Leach 146
  • Master v Miller (1791) 4 TR 320

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Nakawombe_and_Another_v_Streams_of_Life_Church_Limited_and_Others_(HCT-00-LD-CS-2850-2016)_[2023]_UGHCLD_277_(5_September_2023)
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.