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Phenny Mwesigwa v Petrol Uganda Limited (Civil Application 129 of 2019)

Court of Appeal · [2019] UGCA 2104 · 2019 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application before a single Justice of the Court of Appeal for an interim order of stay of execution pending determination of the main application for stay of execution.
Decision
Interim order of stay of execution granted pending determination of the main application, on condition of deposit of land titles as security

Observed later treatment

Treatment recorded in citing cases followed in 1 Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

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Good law Followed in 1 case and applied in 0 cases, with no adverse treatment recorded. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

A single Justice of the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear and determine interlocutory matters, including applications for interim orders of stay of execution, under section 12 of the Judicature Act. The Court held that the applicant satisfied the conditions for an interim stay: a notice of appeal had been lodged in the Supreme Court, a substantive application for stay was pending, the extraction of a decree constituted a serious threat of execution, and the application was filed without undue delay. The application was allowed and an interim stay granted pending determination of the main application, on condition that the applicant deposit duplicate land titles as security.

Outcome

Interim order of stay of execution granted pending determination of the main application, on condition of deposit of land titles as security

Facts

The respondent sued the applicant in HCCS No. 633 of 2009 and obtained judgment on 22 November 2009, ordering the applicant to pay special damages of Shs. 536,000,139 with interest at 21% per annum and nominal damages of Shs. 2,000,000 with interest at 8% per annum. The applicant appealed in Civil Appeal No. 97 of 2009, which was partly allowed on 4 April 2019. Dissatisfied with that judgment, the applicant lodged a notice of appeal in the Supreme Court on 8 April 2019 and requested the record of proceedings. The applicant filed a substantive application for stay of execution (Civil Application No. 128 of 2019) on 25 April 2019 and brought the present application for an interim stay, asserting an imminent threat of execution following extraction of the decree and a willingness to provide security through land titles.

Issues

  1. Whether a single Justice of the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear and determine an application for an interim order of stay of execution pending determination of the main application for stay.
  2. Whether the applicant satisfied the conditions for the grant of an interim order of stay of execution.

Orders

  • An interim order of stay of execution of the judgment and orders in Civil Appeal No. 97 of 2009 is granted pending the hearing and determination of Civil Application No. 128 of 2019 or until further orders of the court.
  • The applicant shall deposit duplicate copies of land titles of Block 76 Masaka Plot 616 Kabula; Block 76 Plot 246 Kabula; and Block 2 Plot 624 Kashari in court as security.
  • The costs of the application shall abide the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Stay of Execution — Jurisdiction — Single Justice of Court of Appeal
A single Justice of the Court of Appeal may, under section 12 of the Judicature Act, exercise any power vested in the Court in an interlocutory matter, including an application for an interim order of stay of execution pending determination of the main application.
Stay of Execution — Concurrent Jurisdiction of Supreme Court and Court of Appeal
The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal have concurrent jurisdiction over interim applications for stay of execution pending the determination of the main application, and such an application may be heard by a single Judge of the Court of Appeal.
Stay of Execution — Conditions for Grant of Interim Order
An interim order of stay of execution may be granted where a notice of appeal has been lodged, a substantive application for stay is pending, there is a serious threat of execution before the hearing of that application, and the application has been filed without undue delay.
Stay of Execution — Threat of Execution — Extraction of Decree
The extraction of a decree constitutes a serious threat of execution, since once a decree is extracted the next step for the decree holder is to execute it, and nothing stands in the way until it is set aside.

Legislation cited (8)

  • Civil Procedure Act Cap.71 s.98
  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions r.2(2)
  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions r.6(2)(b)
  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions r.43(1)
  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions r.44(1)
  • Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) Directions r.76
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Rules) Directions r.41(1)
  • Judicature Act Cap.13 s.12

Cases cited (8)

  • Nganga aersus Klmant [196911 Elt 67 (HCK)
  • Phenny Mwesigwa v Petrol Uganda Limited (Civil Miscellaneous Application No. 105 of 2019)
  • Muntu Safi Kironde and Others v Attorney General and the Inspectorate of Government (Constitutional Application No. 02 of 2017)
  • Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited v Atyaba Agencies (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 31 of 2004)
  • Matthew Rukikaire v Incafex Limited (Civil Application No. 77 of 2015)
  • Florah Ramanungu v DFCU Leasing Company Limited (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 11 of 2009)
  • George Owor v Attorney General and Another (Constitutional Application No. 38 of 2010)
  • E.B. Nyakana and Sons Limited and Beatrice Kobusinge and Others (Supreme Court Miscellaneous Application No. 13 of 2017)

Cases citing this judgment (1)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

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Phenny Mwesigwa v Petrol Uganda Limited (Civil Application 129 of 2019) [2019] UGCA 2104 (28 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.