Rehema Turyakira Omar v Administrator of the Estate of the Late Byoleko Epaphroditus and Others (Civil Suit No. 883 of 2016)

Observed later treatment

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.

Holding

The court held that where a vendor subdivides and sells part of his land without providing a functional access road, the purchaser is entitled to an easement of necessity. The court ordered a resurvey to create a proper access road from the vendor's retained land and awarded general damages for the inconvenience caused by the absence of access.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the plaintiff with orders for resurvey, creation of access road, general damages, interest, and costs

Facts

The plaintiff purchased Plot 2E Commercial Lane, Naguru from the late Byoleko Epaphroditus, which was subdivided from Plot 32 Ntinda II Road. The certificate of title indicated an access road on Commercial Lane, but the plaintiff was denied access by owners of adjacent Plots 2A and 2B, who asserted that the access to Plot 32 was on Ntinda II Road, not Commercial Lane. KCCA officials confirmed that the access road on Commercial Lane was not open to public circulation due to a storm water drain and other developments. The plaintiff's plot became landlocked without functional access. The court conducted a locus visit and observed that Plot 2E was enclosed and had no independent access road. The defendant, as administrator of the vendor's estate, controlled the residue Plot 32A.

Issues

1. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to an access road from the defendant?
2. What are the remedies available to the parties?

Orders

• A declaration that the plaintiff is entitled to an access road from the 1st defendant.
• The Commissioner Land Registration is hereby directed to carry out a resurvey of Plot 32 Ntinda II Road to create Plots 32A and 32B Ntinda II Road since the survey that created Plot 2E was reversed.
• An access road to the plaintiff from Ntinda II Road earmarked on the title for the land that was sold to her by the 1st defendant.
• General damages of UGX 10,000,000/= and interest of 10% per annum.
• Costs of the suit awarded to the plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Legislation cited (5)

• Registration of Titles Act s.60
• Registration of Titles Act s.61
• Access to Roads Act s.2
• Civil Procedure Act s.26
• Civil Procedure Act s.27

Cases cited (6)

• Shah Champshi Tejshi and Others v The Attorney General of Kenya (1959) EA 630
• Hadley v Baxendale (1894) 9 Exch 341
• Uganda Commercial Bank v Kigozi (2002) 1 EA 305
• Premchandra Shenoi and Anor v Maximov Oleg Petrovich (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 9 of 2003)
• Kinyera v The Management Committee of Laroo Building Primary School (High Court Civil Suit No. 099 of 2013)
• Munyagwa Edward & 6 others v Henry Lukonge Matovu Birungi (High Court Civil Suit No. 0073 of 2019)

Cases citing this judgment (2)

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.

• Byoleko Robert Mutazindwa and Another v Rehema Turyakira Omar (Miscellaneous Application No. 1188 of 2025)
• Kanyarusoke Edward and Another v Bagonza William and Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 4097 of 2025)

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