Wakilii

Ndagire Gladesi and Anor v Nsubuga Mpombe Hussein (HCT-00-CC-CS 497 of 2004)

High Court · [2005] UGCOMMC 72 · 2005 Judgment for Defendant AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for breach of contract and rescission
Decision
Suit dismissed with costs to the defendant; consent settlement recorded between plaintiff no.2 and defendant

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that a legally enforceable contract existed between the parties for the sale of land in exchange for construction works. The plaintiff failed to prove any of the alleged breaches of contract. The alleged oral terms regarding building plans, standard of construction, and completion timelines were not established in evidence. Defects in the constructed rooms were not sufficiently proven and the plaintiffs had occupied and used the premises for over two years. Failure to complete the boys' quarters was caused by land disputes not attributable to the defendant and by the plaintiffs stopping construction. Suit dismissed with costs to the defendant.

Outcome

Suit dismissed with costs to the defendant; consent settlement recorded between plaintiff no.2 and defendant

Facts

Plaintiff no.1 and her son plaintiff no.2 agreed to sell the defendant a plot of land measuring 10 feet by 40 feet at Bwaise, Bokassa Zone, in exchange for which the defendant would build a two-roomed house with a three-room boys' quarter and pit latrine. A written agreement in Luganda was executed on 17 September 2002. The defendant built two front rooms which the plaintiffs occupied, with plaintiff no.2 taking one room and plaintiff no.1 letting the other room to tenants. The defendant himself became a tenant of plaintiff no.1, paying UGX 150,000 monthly rent for two years. The defendant did not complete the boys' quarters or the toilet. The plaintiffs alleged the construction was substandard and breached various oral terms. A neighbour, Mr Masembe, claimed part of the land where the boys' quarters and toilet were to be built belonged to him, preventing further construction. The plaintiffs stopped the defendant from continuing construction due to disputes over measurements and quality. Plaintiff no.2 entered a settlement agreement with the defendant during mediation, but plaintiff no.1's counsel disputed this settlement and plaintiff no.1 proceeded with the case.

Issues

  1. Whether there is a legally enforceable contract between the plaintiff and the defendant.
  2. Whether the defendant is in breach of the said contract.
  3. What remedies, if any, are the plaintiffs entitled to.

Orders

  • Suit dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the defendant.
  • Judgment by consent entered as between plaintiff no.2 and the defendant on the terms of their filed settlement agreement.

Rules and key headnotes

Contract Law — Proof of Terms — Oral Terms — Burden of Proof
Where a party alleges the existence of oral terms supplementing a written contract, that party bears the burden of proving those terms in evidence. Failure to adduce evidence of alleged oral agreements regarding building plans, standard of construction, or completion timelines results in those terms not being established as part of the contract.
Contract Law — Breach — Standard of Performance — Proof of Defects
General allegations that constructed premises are weak, substandard, or defective are insufficient to establish breach of contract where the plaintiff has occupied and used the premises for over two years, the premises are fit for their intended commercial and residential purposes, and no detailed evidence is adduced as to the nature or cause of alleged defects.
Contract Law — Breach — Prevention of Performance by Promisee
Where a plaintiff prevents a defendant from completing contractual obligations by stopping construction works, the defendant cannot be held liable for breach of contract in respect of those uncompleted works. A party cannot rely on a breach caused by their own prevention.
Contract Law — Impossibility of Performance — Land Disputes
Where performance of a construction contract becomes impossible or frustrated due to third-party claims over the land on which construction was to occur, and such claims are not the fault of the defendant contractor, failure to complete the works cannot be ascribed to the defendant as breach of contract.
Evidence — Expert Reports — Admissibility — Failure to Call Author
An expert report attached to the plaint but never introduced into evidence, and whose author is never called to testify, cannot be considered by the court. The court is unable to have any regard to such a report.

Full judgment

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

Ndagire Gladesi and Anor v Nsubuga Mpombe Hussein (HCT-00-CC-CS 497 of 2004) [2005] UGCommC 72 (30 November 2005)
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.