Wakilii

Nansamba Aidah and Another v Asasira Honest alias Peace (MISC. APPLICATION NO.258 OF 2023)

High Court · [2024] UGHC 1213 · 2024 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for stay of execution of contempt orders pending appeal
Decision
Application dismissed; applicants remain in contempt until they purge themselves by complying with the underlying boundary opening order

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

A party found in contempt of court by disobeying an existing order cannot obtain stay of execution of contempt orders pending appeal until the contempt is purged. Filing an appeal does not exonerate the contempt. The applicants who failed to obey a joint boundary opening order by consent and were held in contempt came to court with unclean hands without making any deposit to purge the contempt. Application dismissed.

Outcome

Application dismissed; applicants remain in contempt until they purge themselves by complying with the underlying boundary opening order

Facts

The respondent instituted HCCS No. 110 of 2022 and filed Misc. Application No. 193 of 2022 seeking a temporary injunction. By consent of counsel for both parties, orders were made for a joint boundary opening of disputed land involving the parties' surveyors and the District Staff Surveyor. The applicants failed to comply with the boundary opening orders. The respondent filed Misc. Application No. 13 of 2023 for contempt and the applicants were found in contempt. The applicants then filed an appeal (Civil Appeal No. 37 of 2023) and sought stay of execution of the contempt orders (which included a fine of UGX 10,000,000 each or committal to civil prison for three months) without purging the contempt by payment or compliance with the underlying orders.

Issues

  1. Whether the application for stay of execution of orders in Miscellaneous Application No. 13 of 2023 should be granted.

Orders

  • Application summarily dismissed without consideration of its merits.
  • Applicants to pay costs of the application.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Contempt of Court — Stay of Execution — Purging Contempt
A party found in contempt of court by disobeying an existing court order cannot obtain stay of execution of contempt orders until the contempt is purged, either by complying with the underlying order or making a deposit as security for compliance.
Civil Procedure — Contempt of Court — Effect of Appeal on Contempt
The mere fact that a party found in contempt lodges an appeal against the contempt finding does not exonerate the contempt. An appeal as well as an application for stay of execution does not purge the contemnor of contempt.
Civil Procedure — Contempt of Court — Right of Audience
The failure to fully purge oneself of contempt prevents the contemnor from enjoying audience before court until he or she purges himself or herself of the contempt, whether the matter to be heard is fresh or pending, for as long as it is a related cause of action or defence.
Administrative Law — Contempt of Court — Nature and Purpose
Contempt of court consists in interfering with the administration of the law, impeding and perverting the course of justice. It is not the dignity of the court which is offended but the fundamental supremacy of the law which is challenged. An order issued by a court with jurisdiction must be obeyed until reversed by orderly and proper proceeding.

Legislation cited (3)

Cases cited (8)

  • Kerilee Investments Limited v Krone (U) Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 227 of 2017)
  • Lawrence Musiitwa Kyazze v Eunice Busingye (Civil Appeal No. 18 of 1990)
  • Betty Kizito v Dickson Nsubuga & 6 Ors (Civil Application No. 25 and 26 of 2021)
  • Johnson vs. Grant SC 1923 SC 789 at 790
  • Wild Life Lodges Ltd Vs County Council of Narok and another [2005] 2 EA 344
  • Dilip Kumar P. Patel & 5 Ors v Kashya P. Kumar B. Patel & 10 Ors (HCMA No. 840 of 2021)
  • Male H. Mabilizi Kiwanuka v Attorney General (Civil Application No. 39 of 2022)
  • Erasmas Masiko v John Imaniragha, Christopher Mulenga & Commissioner Land Registration (Misc. Application No. 1481 of 2016)

Full judgment

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

Nansamba Aidah and Another v Asasira Honest alias Peace (MISC. APPLICATION NO.258 OF 2023) [2024] UGHC 1213 (3 October 2024)
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.