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Opec Prime Properties Limited v Lukyamuzi Investment Limited (Miscellaneous Application 815 of 2024; Miscellaneous Application No. 2390 of 2025)

High Court · [2026] UGCOMMC 45 · 2026 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to file out of time and for leave to appeal against a ruling dismissing an application to set aside default judgment
Decision
Application dismissed with costs to the Respondent

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court dismissed the application for leave to file out of time and for leave to appeal. The applicant filed the application 21 days outside the statutory 14-day period but failed to demonstrate sufficient cause for the delay. The court held that extension of time is discretionary and requires proof of good cause, which the applicant did not establish. Having declined the extension, the application for leave to appeal also failed.

Outcome

Application dismissed with costs to the Respondent

Facts

The Applicant had instituted Miscellaneous Application No. 2390 of 2023 seeking to set aside a default judgment arising out of Civil Suit No. 554 of 2023 and for leave to defend the suit. On 28 March 2024, the trial judge delivered a ruling dismissing the application on the ground that it disclosed no triable issues. The Applicant sought to appeal against that ruling. Under the Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions, an application for leave to appeal must be filed within 14 days of the decision. The Applicant filed the present application on 2 May 2024, 21 days outside the statutory period. The Applicant sought leave to file out of time and leave to appeal, but provided no explanation for the delay beyond asserting there was no dilatory conduct.

Issues

  1. Whether the Application raises grounds for enlargement of time within which to file this application.
  2. Whether the Application raises grounds for the grant of leave to appeal against the Ruling of the court in Miscellaneous Application No. 2390 of 2023.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the Respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Appeals — Leave to Appeal — Extension of Time — Sufficient Cause
An application for extension of time to file an application for leave to appeal must demonstrate sufficient cause for the delay. Sufficient cause must relate to the inability or failure to take a necessary step within the prescribed time, not to taking a wrong decision. Extension of time is discretionary and not granted as a matter of course.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Leave to Appeal — Statutory Time Limits
Under Rule 40(1) of the Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions, a litigant seeking to appeal must file their application either informally at the time the decision is given or by formal notice of motion within 14 days after the decision.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Right of Appeal — Statutory Creature
The right to appeal is a creature of statute. An appeal does not lie from an order except with leave of the court making the order or of the court to which an appeal would lie if leave were given, unless the order is one from which an appeal is expressly allowed by the rules.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (4)

  • Shah v Attorney General (1971) EA 50
  • Hadondi Daniel v Yolam Egondi (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 67 of 2003)
  • Sseruwuge Charles v Kinoni Traders' Cooperative Savings Credit Society (Miscellaneous Application No. 24 of 2020)
  • Deborah Ntanda v Dr. D. B. Kyegombe (Deceased) & Mrs. B. V. Kyeyune (Miscellaneous Application No. 1493 of 2021)

Full judgment

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

Opec Prime Properties Limited v Lukyamuzi Investment Limited (Miscellaneous Application 815 of 2024; Miscellaneous Application No. 2390 of 2025) [2026] UGCommC 45 (30 January 2026)
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.