Wakilii

Okello Oryem Alfred & 2 Ors v Akright Projects Ltd & Anor (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 671 of 2009)

High Court · [2009] UGCOMMC 5 · 2009 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application by objectors to lift attachment of properties under Order 22 Rules 55, 56 & 57 CPR in execution proceedings arising from Civil Suit No. 140 of 2008
Decision
Application dismissed with costs to respondents

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

An objector application under Order 22 Rules 55-57 CPR to lift attachment of properties dismissed where the properties were never actually attached and the objectors failed to establish bonafide purchaser status. The court held that objectors holding incomplete, unregistered transfers and sale agreements with unfulfilled payment terms had no registrable interest to protect, and the proper remedy for any loss lay against their legal representatives who failed to conduct proper due diligence.

Outcome

Application dismissed with costs to respondents

Facts

The applicants objected to attachment of seven plots (Block 276 Plots 656-658, 661-662; Block 256 Plots 659-660) in execution proceedings arising from Civil Suit No. 140 of 2008, claiming they had purchased the properties from the judgment debtor prior to attachment. Okello Oryem Alfred held original title deeds for Plots 656-657 with incomplete, undated transfers, and had sale agreements dated 12.01.07 for Plots 658 and 662 that were never registered. Angeyo Jennifer produced sale agreements dated 22.07.06 for Plots 659-660 (though contracts referred to different plot numbers) with a completion deadline of 22.07.07, by which date installment payments were incomplete. Omal David Livingstone had a sale agreement dated 29.08.06 for two plots (332-333) with no evidence of payment for Plot 661, and the completion deadline had passed. None of the transfers were registered, and the respondents maintained the properties were never actually attached.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants had acquired the properties prior to attachment and therefore whether the properties were liable for attachment.
  2. Whether the applicants were bonafide purchasers for value with registrable interests in the properties.
  3. Whether the application under Order 22 Rules 55, 56 & 57 CPR was properly founded where no actual attachment had occurred.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Objector Applications — Order 22 Rules 55-57 CPR — Requirement of Actual Attachment
An objector application under Order 22 Rules 55, 56 and 57 of the Civil Procedure Rules is misconceived where the properties in question have not been attached in execution proceedings.
Land & Property — Transfer of Land — Incomplete Transfers — Equitable Interest
A purchaser who holds original title deeds with incomplete and unregistered transfers has an equitable interest in the property but cannot intervene in attachment proceedings where there is no attachment and the purchaser has failed to register the interest to protect it.
Land & Property — Bonafide Purchaser for Value — Requirements — Completion and Registration
A person who enters into a sale agreement with incomplete payment of installments by the contractual cut-off date and who fails to complete transfer or registration is not a bonafide purchaser for value with a protectable interest in the property.
Land & Property — Due Diligence — Duty of Legal Representatives — Proper Searches and Enquiries
Legal representatives acting on a land purchase must conduct proper searches at the Land Registry and carry out all necessary enquiries to establish that the purchaser is a bonafide purchaser at arm's length and for value, and failure to do so may ground an action for loss against the lawyers.

Legislation cited (8)

Full judgment

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Okello Oryem Alfred & 2 Ors v Akright Projects Ltd & Anor (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 671 of 2009) [2009] UGCommC 5 (4 March 2009)
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.