Wakilii

Red Stone Training Institute Limited v Sebugwawo (Miscellaneous Application 195 of 2024)

High Court · [2024] UGCOMMC 175 · 2024 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for unconditional leave to appear and defend a summary suit arising from Civil Suit No. 1695 of 2023
Decision
Application dismissed. Judgment entered for the respondent for UGX 64,000,000 with an eviction order. Applicant to vacate premises within seven days or face eviction.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

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

The court dismissed the application for leave to appear and defend, holding that the applicant failed to raise any triable issue of fact or law warranting leave under Order 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules. The applicant had remained in occupation of the respondent's premises after expiry of the tenancy agreement without paying rent, and had acknowledged rental arrears in correspondence. The defence that the claim was based on a non-existing contract was not tenable where rent remained due for continued occupation.

Outcome

Application dismissed. Judgment entered for the respondent for UGX 64,000,000 with an eviction order. Applicant to vacate premises within seven days or face eviction.

Facts

The applicant, Red Stone Training Institute Limited, was a tenant of the respondent under a tenancy agreement for premises at Nakwero A Manyagwa, Wakiso District at UGX 8,000,000 per month from 1 May 2022 to 30 April 2023. After the tenancy expired, the applicant remained in occupation without renewing the agreement or paying rent. On 8 August 2023, the respondent terminated the tenancy and demanded vacation by 7 September 2023, noting four months' rent arrears. The applicant requested a grace period of four months but did not vacate or pay rent. By October 2023, arrears stood at six months. By the time the respondent filed Civil Suit No. 1695 of 2023 on 18 December 2023, the applicant owed eight months' rent totalling UGX 64,000,000. The applicant then filed this application seeking unconditional leave to appear and defend.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant has raised sufficient grounds to warrant the grant of leave to appear and defend Civil Suit No. 1695 of 2023?
  2. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

  • Application for leave to appear and defend dismissed.
  • Respondent/Plaintiff entitled to a decree under Order 36 Rule 5 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
  • Judgment entered for the Respondent/Plaintiff for UGX 64,000,000.
  • Applicant/Defendant to give vacant possession of the suit premises within seven (7) days from the date of the Ruling, failing which eviction shall issue.
  • Respondent/Plaintiff awarded costs of the application and the suit.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Summary Procedure — Leave to Appear and Defend — Requirements
For leave to appear and defend a summary suit to be granted under Order 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules, an applicant must show by affidavit or otherwise that there is a bona fide triable issue of fact or law. The applicant must disclose the nature and grounds of the defence and the disclosed defence must be both bonafide and good in law. A defence must not be needlessly bald, vague, sketchy, or a sham intended to delay recovery.
Civil Procedure — Summary Procedure — What Constitutes a Triable Issue
A triable issue arises when a material proposition of law or fact is affirmed by one party and denied by the other, and is capable of being resolved through judicial examination. A triable issue must be differentiated from a mere denial. Where facts are disputed, the court does not attempt to decide the issues or determine balance of probabilities at the leave stage.
Land & Property — Landlord and Tenant — Rent Arrears After Expiry of Tenancy
Where a tenant remains in occupation of premises after expiry of a tenancy agreement without paying rent, rent remains due and payable for the period of continued occupation. A tenant who acknowledges rental arrears in correspondence cannot later claim that no rent is due on the ground that the tenancy agreement has expired. It is only fair and just for a tenant to settle rental arrears for the period of continued occupation.
Contract Law — Landlord and Tenant — Holding Over — Liability for Rent
A defence that a claim for rent is based on a non-existing contract is not good in law where the tenant admits paying rent after expiry of the tenancy agreement. Such admission is evidence that rent was due and payable even after expiry of the tenancy agreement, since the tenant remained in occupation of the premises.
Land & Property — Landlord and Tenant — Eviction — Termination of Tenancy
Under section 44 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 2022, a tenant is required to vacate premises on termination of tenancy. Where a tenant fails to vacate premises after lawful termination and a deadline for vacation, the landlord is entitled to an eviction order to enable the landlord utilize the premises in whatever manner deemed fit.

Legislation cited (8)

Cases cited (11)

  • Maluku Interglobal Trade Agency Ltd v Bank of Uganda [1985] HCB 65
  • Mako Warehouse Co. Ltd v Total Uganda Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 1031 of 2021)
  • MMK Engineering Ltd v Mantrust (U) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 128 of 2012)
  • Uganda Coffee Development Authority v Stephen Banya (Civil Suit No. 140 of 2018)
  • Joy Tumushabe and Another v Anglo African Ltd and Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 7 of 1999)
  • Jamil Ssenyonjo v Jonathan Bunjo (Civil Suit No. 180 of 2012)
  • Kotecha v Adam Mohammed [2002] 1 EA 112
  • Twentsche Overseas Trading Co. Ltd v Bombay Garage [1958] EA 741
  • Post Bank (U) Limited v Abdul Ssozi (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 8 of 2015)
  • Ndibazza Naima v Acacia Finance Limited (Miscellaneous Application No. 1144 of 2014)
  • Uganda Development Bank v Muganga Construction Co. Ltd [1981] HCB 35

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Red Stone Training Institute Limited v Sebugwawo (Miscellaneous Application 195 of 2024) [2024] UGCommC 175 (25 April 2024)
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.