Wakilii

Oluma v Okello (CIVIL APPEAL No. 030 OF 2016)

High Court · [2019] UGHCCD 175 · 2019 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal from magistrate court judgment in land ownership dispute
Decision
Respondent's declaration of ownership, eviction order, permanent injunction, and general damages award upheld.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that a court may rely on truthful parts of a witness's testimony while rejecting false parts. The trial magistrate correctly found that the respondent purchased the entire land from Martin Ogut in 1985, as corroborated by Ogut's admission that he vacated the land after giving all his land to the respondent. The appellant's contradictory evidence about his title failed to establish ownership. Appeal dismissed.

Outcome

Respondent's declaration of ownership, eviction order, permanent injunction, and general damages award upheld.

Facts

In 1985, the respondent purchased land measuring approximately 20-30 acres in Omokokitunge village from Ogut Martin for shs. 20,000 and two goats. The respondent occupied the land until 1988 when he was displaced into an IDP Camp due to insurgency. Upon his return in 2009, he found the appellant had occupied approximately 20 acres and constructed huts. The appellant claimed to have inherited the land from his grandfather Aliro Nekobwam or received it as a gift from his uncle Oluma James in 1993. The magistrate court found for the respondent, declaring him the lawful owner, ordering eviction, granting a permanent injunction, and awarding shs. 3,000,000 general damages. The appellant appealed.

Issues

  1. Whether the trial magistrate properly evaluated the evidence on record.
  2. Whether the respondent proved ownership of the land in dispute.
  3. Whether the appellant's general ground of appeal was properly framed.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Costs of the appeal awarded to the respondent.
  • Costs of the court below awarded to the respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Evidence — Evaluation of Evidence — Partial Reliance on Witness Testimony
Courts may rely on parts of the testimony of a witness which are truthful and reject the parts which are false. A court may believe the evidence of a contradicting witness and reject the part containing lies, or reject the whole evidence of such witness who may be telling lies but act on the rest of the evidence, or accept reasonable explanation for the inconsistencies.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Grounds of Appeal — General Grounds
Grounds of appeal must be framed concisely and under distinct heads without argument or narrative, specifically pointing out errors observed in the course of the trial which occasioned a miscarriage of justice. General grounds that allow a fishing expedition at the hearing of the appeal will be struck out.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — First Appellate Court — Duty to Re-hear
A first appellate court has the duty to re-hear the case by subjecting the evidence presented to the trial court to a fresh and exhaustive scrutiny and re-appraisal before coming to its own conclusion. In a case of conflicting evidence the appeal court must make due allowance for the fact that it has neither seen nor heard the witnesses, and must weigh the conflicting evidence and draw its own inferences and conclusions.
Land & Property — Proof of Title — Contradictory Evidence
Where a party claiming land ownership adduces contradictory evidence as to the root of title, claiming variously to have been born on the land, to have inherited it, and to have received it as a gift, and fails to adduce satisfactory evidence supporting any of these claims, the court may reject the claim in its entirety.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (8)

  • Father Nanensio Begumisa and Others v Eric Tiberaga (SCCA No. 17 of 2000)
  • Lovinsa Nankya v Nsibambi [1980] HCB 81
  • Katumba Byaruhanga v Edward Kyewalabye Musoke (Civil Appeal No. 2 of 1998)
  • Attorney General v Florence Baliraine (Civil Appeal No. 79 of 2003)
  • Uganda v Rutaro [1976] HCB 162
  • Uganda v George W Yiga [1977] HCB 217
  • Saggu v Road Master Cycles (U) Ltd [2002] I EA 258
  • Kiiza Besigye v Museveni YK and Electoral Commission [2001-2005] 3 HCB 4

Full judgment

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

Oluma Vs Okello (CIVIL APPEAL No. 030 OF 2016) [2019] UGHCCD 175 (30 May 2019)
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.