Wakilii

Oriokoy v Eduba (Miscellaneous Application 188 of 2022)

High Court · [2023] UGHCCD 284 · 2023 Application Partly Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for review of High Court Civil Appeal judgment arising from Chief Magistrate's Court civil suit
Decision
Application allowed. Judgment in Civil Appeal No. 0008/2019 amended to correct factual errors; original order for retrial confirmed and unaffected.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the High Court judgment in Civil Appeal No. 0008/2019 contained an error apparent on the face of the record where it stated that Asio Magdalene was dead and that Oriokot Julius held letters of administration to her estate. Court invoked its inherent powers under Civil Procedure Act s.99 to correct the errors by striking off the erroneous statements, clarifying that Asio Magdalene is alive and that the applicant held letters of administration to the estate of the late Akwar Augenio. The final orders of the original appeal — setting aside the lower court judgment and ordering a retrial — were confirmed as the court's true intention and remained unaffected by the corrections.

Outcome

Application allowed. Judgment in Civil Appeal No. 0008/2019 amended to correct factual errors; original order for retrial confirmed and unaffected.

Facts

Oriokot Julius applied for review of a High Court judgment in Civil Appeal No. 0008/2019 arising from a land dispute at Soroti Chief Magistrate's Court. The original plaintiff, Asio Magdalene, instituted a land claim against Eduba John and granted Oriokot Julius a power of attorney to litigate on her behalf. The trial magistrate found in favour of Oriokot Julius, but on appeal the High Court found the power of attorney defective and set aside the lower court's judgment, ordering a retrial. In its judgment, the appellate court stated that Asio Magdalene had died and that Oriokot Julius held letters of administration to her estate. Oriokot Julius sought review on the ground that Asio Magdalene was alive and that he held letters of administration only to his late father Akwar Augenio's estate. Asio Magdalene filed an affidavit confirming she was alive. Oriokot Julius initially filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal but withdrew it on legal advice that review was the appropriate remedy.

Issues

  1. Whether the judgment and orders of the High Court entered on 8 June 2022 in Civil Appeal No. 008/2019 should be reviewed and set aside.
  2. Whether there was an error apparent on the face of the record regarding the alleged death of Asio Magdalene and letters of administration to her estate.
  3. Whether the applicant's supporting affidavit was argumentative and incompetent.
  4. Whether sufficient grounds existed for review under Civil Procedure Act s.82 and Civil Procedure Rules Order 46 rule 1.

Orders

  • Application for review allowed.
  • Statements in the judgment in Civil Appeal No. 0008 of 2019 dated 8 June 2022 indicating that Asio Magdalene is dead are struck off the judgment.
  • Statements in the judgment indicating that Oriokot Julius has letters of administration to the estate of Asio Magdalene are struck off and replaced with the statement that Oriokot Julius had letters of administration to the estate of the late Akwar Augenio.
  • Clarified that Civil Appeal No. 0008 of 2019 did not find that the suit land belonged to the respondent; it ordered a retrial in the lower trial court de novo.
  • The applicant is allowed to properly withdraw the appeal filed in the Court of Appeal in accordance with that court's rules of procedure.
  • Line 14 on page 12 in the judgment of Civil Appeal No. 0008 of 2019 beginning with 'Given all these factual....' up to '...following his mother after a dispute' is struck off to leave only 'Ground One of the appeal succeeds.'
  • Each party to bear their own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Review of Judgments — Grounds for Review — Error Apparent on the Face of the Record
For a review application to succeed on the ground of error apparent on the face of the record, the error must be evident and require no extraneous matter to show its incorrectness. It must be an error so manifest and clear that no court would permit it to remain on the record. The error may be one of fact or law.
Civil Procedure — Review — Distinction from Appeal — Same Court Reconsideration
Review is different from an appeal in that a review is reconsideration of the subject of the suit in the same court under specific conditions set out by law, while an appeal is a rehearing by the appellate court. Review does not open questions decided upon between the parties except under specific instances accorded by law.
Civil Procedure — Inherent Powers — Amendment of Judgments — Section 99 Civil Procedure Act
Under Civil Procedure Act s.99, clerical or mathematical mistakes in judgments, decrees, or orders, or errors arising from any accidental slip or omission, may at any time be corrected by the court either of its own motion or on the application of any of the parties. Where errors in a judgment do not affect the judgment in its entirety, the court may invoke its inherent powers to amend and correct those errors rather than set aside the entire judgment.
Civil Procedure — Affidavit Evidence — Argumentative Affidavits — Order 19 Rule 3
An affidavit is meant to adduce evidence and not to argue the application. However, where an applicant's affidavit provides factual detail narrated to justify relevant information in evidence for grant of an order, and counsel has not demonstrated how the content is argumentative, the affidavit will not be struck out as argumentative merely because of matters of style.
Civil Procedure — Substantive Justice — Article 126(2)(e) Constitution — Technicalities
Article 126(2)(e) of the Constitution enjoins courts to do substantive justice without undue regard to technicalities. Where an applicant has demonstrated clear intention to comply with procedural requirements, courts should allow the applicant to finalise those processes rather than dismiss the application on the basis of mere technicalities, in order to avoid multiplicity of suits.

Legislation cited (11)

Cases cited (10)

  • FX Mubuuke v Uganda Electricity Board (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 98 of 2005)
  • Adonia v Mutekenga [1971] EA 429
  • Re Nakivubo Chemicals (U) Ltd [1979] HCB 12
  • Mohamed Allibahai v W. E Bukenya & DAPCB (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 56 of 1996)
  • Busoga Growers Co-operative Union Ltd v Nsamba & Sons Ltd (High Court Commercial Court Miscellaneous Application No. 123 of 2000)
  • Edison Kanyabwera v Pastori Tumwebaze (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 6 of 2004)
  • Said v Maitha [2000] 2 EA 505
  • Sardar Mohamed v Charan Singh Nand Singh & Another [1959] 1 EA 793
  • Abdul Jafar Devji v Ali RMS Devji [1958] EA 558
  • Nakiridde v Hotel International Ltd (1987) HCB 85

Full judgment

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Oriokoy v Eduba (Miscellaneous Application 188 of 2022) [2023] UGHCCD 284 (21 September 2023)
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.