Wakilii

Registered Trustees of Kampala Institute v Departed Asians Property Board [1994] UGSC 18

Supreme Court · 1994 Appeal Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from a High Court judgment dismissing a suit for declaratory relief under the Expropriated Properties Act 1982
Decision
Appeal allowed; High Court judgment set aside and judgment entered for the appellants declaring that section 1(1)(c) of the Expropriated Properties Act 1982 applied to the suit property; entitlement to a repossession certificate left open

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court considered whether section 1(1)(c) of the Expropriated Properties Act 1982 — covering property 'in any other way appropriated or taken over by the Military Regime' — applies only to lawful takings. Reversing the trial judge, who had followed Masika CJ in the Gandesha (Lutaya) case, the Supreme Court held the words must bear their ordinary meaning and cover any appropriation, lawful or unlawful; reading in 'lawful' or 'legal' was wrong, and the ejusdem generis rule did not apply. As a remedial statute it required liberal construction. The forcible take-over of the club premises by armed prisons officers therefore fell within the Act, reviving the expired lease under section 1(2)(b). Appeal allowed.

Outcome

Appeal allowed; High Court judgment set aside and judgment entered for the appellants declaring that section 1(1)(c) of the Expropriated Properties Act 1982 applied to the suit property; entitlement to a repossession certificate left open

Facts

The appellants were the registered trustees of the Kampala Institute, formerly the Goan Club, a members' club holding leasehold premises in Kampala on which stood a club house and recreation grounds. Following the 1972 expulsion of Asians, on 14 December 1972 armed officers of the Prisons Department forcibly took over the premises and converted the club house into a mess for senior prisons officers, a use that continued for many years. The respondent Custodian Board assumed management of the property. The appellants' lease expired in 1981. In 1983 the appellants applied under the Expropriated Properties Act 1982 for repossession. The respondent rejected the application on the ground that the lease had expired and the land had reverted to the controlling authority, and that it had no legal authority over the property. The appellants sued in the High Court for declarations that the Act applied and that they were entitled to a certificate of repossession; the trial judge held the Act did not apply because the take-over had been unlawful.

Issues

  1. Whether the Expropriated Properties Act 1982 applied to the suit property taken over by the Military Regime.
  2. Whether property fell within section 1(1)(c) of the Act only where it was lawfully appropriated or taken over by the Military Regime.
  3. Whether the word 'lawful' or 'legal' should be read into section 1(1)(c).
  4. Whether the ejusdem generis rule confined section 1(1)(c) to takings authorised by a decree, as in paragraphs (a) and (b).
  5. Whether the appellants were entitled to a certificate of repossession of the suit property.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Judgment and decree of the High Court set aside.
  • Judgment entered for the appellants on the first declaration, that section 1(1)(c) of the Expropriated Properties Act 1982 applied to the suit property.
  • Declaration as to entitlement to a certificate of repossession declined / left open.
  • Costs of the appeal and in the court below to the appellants.

Rules and key headnotes

Statutory Interpretation — Plain Meaning — Reading Words Into a Statute
The words of a statute must be given their plain and ordinary meaning, and words such as 'lawful' or 'legal' will not be read into a provision in the absence of clear necessity to do so.
Statutory Interpretation — Ejusdem Generis Rule — Application
The ejusdem generis rule applies only where particular words are followed by general words; where statutory paragraphs are separate and independent of one another, each must be construed on its own and the rule has no application.
Statutory Interpretation — Remedial Statute — Mischief Rule — Liberal Construction
A remedial statute must be construed liberally and in the light of the mischief it was designed to prevent, so as to advance the remedy rather than perpetuate the injustice it was intended to redress.
Land & Property — Expropriated Properties Act 1982 — Scope of Section 1(1)(c)
Section 1(1)(c) of the Expropriated Properties Act 1982 covers property appropriated or taken over by the Military Regime in any manner, whether lawfully or unlawfully; it is not confined to takings authorised by a decree.
Land & Property — Expropriated Properties Act 1982 — Continuation of Expired Lease
Where property falls within section 1(1)(c) of the Expropriated Properties Act 1982, an expired lease over that property is continued in force by virtue of section 1(2)(b) until the property is dealt with under the Act.

Legislation cited (12)

  • Expropriated Properties Act 1982 (Act No. 9 of 1982) s.1(1)(a)
  • Expropriated Properties Act 1982 (Act No. 9 of 1982) s.1(1)(b)
  • Expropriated Properties Act 1982 (Act No. 9 of 1982) s.1(1)(c)
  • Expropriated Properties Act 1982 (Act No. 9 of 1982) s.1(2)(b)
  • Expropriated Properties Act 1982 (Act No. 9 of 1982) s.1(4)
  • Expropriated Properties Act 1982 (Act No. 9 of 1982) s.17
  • Assets of Departed Asians Decree 1973 (Decree 27/73) s.4
  • Assets of Departed Asians Decree 1973 (Decree 27/73) s.12(2)
  • Properties and Businesses (Acquisition) Decree 1975 (Decree 11/75)
  • National Trust Decree 1971
  • Trustees Incorporation Act Cap. 147
  • Land Acquisition Act No. 14 of 1965

Cases cited (8)

  • Gabriel Juma Lutaya v Gandesha and Kampala Estates Limited (Civil Suit No. 860 of 1982)
  • Thomson v Goold & Co [1910] AC 409
  • Vickers Sons & Maxim Ltd v Evans [1910] AC 444
  • Attorney General v Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover [1957] AC 436
  • Dapueto v James Wylie & Co (1874) LR 5 PC 482
  • Cowper-Essex v Acton Local Board (1889) 14 App Cas 153
  • Gokaldas Laxmidas Tanna v Rosemary Muyanja (Civil Appeal No. 12 of 1992)
  • Heydon's Case

Full judgment

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

Registered Trustees of Kampala Institute v Departed Asians Property Board [1994] UGSC 18 (1 August 1994)
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.