Wakilii

Ndikimwiza v Ikoba & Anor (Miscellaneous Application No. 121 of 2017)

High Court · [2017] UGHCFD 18 · 2017 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to remove respondents from certificate of no objection and for sole grant of letters of administration, arising from Admin Cause No. 143 of 2016
Decision
Letters of administration granted to applicant widow alone; respondents removed from certificate of no objection

Observed later treatment

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Holding

Held that the High Court has unlimited jurisdiction to entertain the application despite failure to cite enabling law. Where respondents made deliberate misrepresentations about the administration process and refused to appear for identification, they were not proper persons for a grant of letters of administration. A widow may apply for letters of administration without a certificate of no objection as a pre-condition. Application granted; respondents removed from certificate; letters of administration issued to applicant widow alone.

Outcome

Letters of administration granted to applicant widow alone; respondents removed from certificate of no objection

Facts

The applicant Ndikimwiza Phoeby, widow of the late Ikoba Sula, brought an application to remove respondents (brother and sister of the deceased) from a certificate of no objection and to be granted letters of administration alone. The deceased died a resident of Lubanyi, Jinja District, survived by 15 children. A certificate of no objection had been issued to all three parties jointly. When the matter came for identification in court, the respondents refused to sign identification forms or appear. The Administrator General advised the applicant to obtain a court order to delete the respondents. Respondents justified their refusal by claiming: discrepancy in number of children stated; breach of agreement to include a fourth person (Namuyena Annet, now deceased) as co-petitioner; and inclusion of land that did not belong to the estate. Court examination of Administrator General minutes and family meeting records from October 2015 showed that only the three parties had been agreed upon for the grant, the number of children was consistently 15 in all relevant documents except one early affidavit, and the disputed land had been listed without objection at meetings attended by respondents.

Issues

  1. Whether the respondents should be removed from the certificate of no objection to apply for letters of administration.
  2. Whether letters of administration should be granted to the applicant alone as widow.
  3. Whether the applicant's affidavits were defective for non-compliance with the Illiterates Protection Act.
  4. Whether failure to cite legal authority was fatal to the application.

Orders

  • The respondents Ikoba Dawson Nviri and Naikoba Hadija are expunged from the Certificate of No Objection issued in Admin Cause No. 143 of 2016.
  • Letters of administration for the estate of the late Ikoba Sula are hereby issued to Ndikimwiza Phoeby.
  • The applicant is granted costs of this application.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Applications — Failure to Cite Enabling Law
Where an application omits to cite any law but the court has jurisdiction to grant the order sought, the irregularity or omission can be ignored and the correct law inserted; failure to cite enabling law is not fatal to an application where the court is competently seized of jurisdiction.
Civil Procedure — Affidavits — Illiterates Protection Act — Compliance Requirements
Under the Illiterates Protection Act, giving the name and address of the person who drew up an affidavit implies that the drafter was instructed by the deponent, that the document fully and correctly represents the deponent's instructions, and that it was read over and explained to the deponent; where no proof of illiteracy is shown and no mischief or injustice is demonstrated, the court may in the interest of justice investigate the merits of the application.
Succession & Estates — Letters of Administration — Widow's Entitlement to Apply
A widow is entitled to a share of the deceased's estate and on that basis may apply for letters of administration without a certificate of no objection as a pre-condition for the grant to be made to her.
Succession & Estates — Letters of Administration — Proper Persons for Grant — Misrepresentation by Co-Applicants
Where co-applicants for letters of administration make deliberate misrepresentations about the application process and refuse to appear for identification, they are not proper persons for a grant of letters of administration to manage the deceased's estate.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (2)

  • Bwengye v Haki Bonera (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 33 of 2009)
  • Re Christine Namatovu Tebajjukira [1992 - 93] HCB 835

Full judgment

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

Ndikimwiza v Ikoba & Anor (Miscellaneous Application No. 121 of 2017) [2017] UGHCFD 18 (5 December 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.