Wakilii

Rwamasaka and Others v Mwanguhya and Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 112 of 2021)

High Court · [2022] UGHC 66 · 2022 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for consequential orders arising from civil suit judgment concerning estate administration and land belonging to the estate
Decision
Application granted in full; letters of administration revoked and re-granted excluding first respondent; eviction order issued in respect of suit land

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court revoked letters of administration to the estate of Maliko Rutenta Rwamasaka previously granted jointly to the applicants and the first respondent, and issued a fresh grant excluding the first respondent on grounds of conflict of interest. The court found that the first respondent's conflicting claim over suit land belonging to the estate made it impracticable for him to continue as administrator. An eviction order was issued against the respondents in respect of the suit land.

Outcome

Application granted in full; letters of administration revoked and re-granted excluding first respondent; eviction order issued in respect of suit land

Facts

The first applicant is the widow of the late Maliko Rutenta Rwamasaka; the other applicants are his biological children. The respondents are grandchildren of the first applicant through their deceased mother, Gertrude Kabajerimani. In 2013, the court granted letters of administration to the estate jointly to the four applicants and the first respondent. Disputes arose over land labelled Rwengoma A III Zone, West Division in Fort Portal. The applicants claimed the land belonged to Maliko's estate while the first respondent claimed it belonged to his late mother's estate. Mediation failed and the court recalled the letters in December 2015. The applicants filed Civil Suit No. 002 of 2016 and succeeded; the court decreed the suit land belonged to Maliko's estate and that the respondents had intermeddled. The respondents continued to occupy the land and refused to vacate despite correspondence. This application sought consequential orders including revocation of the joint grant, regrant to the applicants alone, and eviction from the suit land.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants' letters of administration earlier recalled by court should be returned
  2. Whether the respondents' letters of administration should be retained, revoked or cancelled
  3. Whether the applicants should be given vacant possession of the suit land declared to be part of the estate
  4. Whether the respondents and those claiming under them should be evicted from the suit land

Orders

  • The letters of administration to the estate of the late Maliko Rutenta Rwamasaka issued on 23rd April 2014 to Continanto Kabatooro Rwamasaka, Fred Rwamasaka Banege, Sam Katuramu, Sylvia Tibakanya Rwamasaka and Kadaama Mwanguhya Johnson are revoked.
  • Letters of administration to the estate of the late Maliko Rutenta Rwamasaka are granted to Continanto Kabatooro Rwamasaka, Fred Rwamasaka Banege, Sam Katuramu and Sylvia Tibakanya Rwamasaka.
  • The newly appointed administrators shall make a full and true inventory of the entire estate to this court within six (6) months from the date of this ruling.
  • An eviction order is issued against the respondents and everyone claiming under them in respect to land comprised in Rwengoma A III Zone, West Division in Fort Portal belonging to the estate of the late Maliko Rutenta Rwamasaka.
  • Miscellaneous application no. 104 of 2021 is closed with no order as to costs.
  • Costs of this application are awarded to the applicants.

Rules and key headnotes

Succession & Estates — Revocation of Grant of Letters of Administration — Conflict of Interest
Where an administrator's interests are in clear conflict with the interests of the estate he is appointed to administer, the grant may be revoked under section 234(2)(d) of the Succession Act on the ground that it has become inoperative, and a fresh grant may be issued to the other co-administrators.
Succession & Estates — Revocation and Fresh Grant — Procedure
Where a grant to two or more administrators is revoked and a fresh grant is issued to one or more of the original administrators, it is not necessary for the continuing administrator to prove once more all of the matters which were proved in order to obtain the original grant.
Succession & Estates — Revocation of Grant — Object and Principle
The object of the power to revoke a grant is to ensure the due and proper administration of an estate and protection of the interests of those beneficially interested. The court may revoke an inoperative grant and make a fresh grant where it is clear that the previous grant has turned out abortive or inefficient.
Succession & Estates — Intermeddling with Estate — Eviction
Where a court has decreed that suit land belongs to a deceased's estate and found that a person is intermeddling in that estate, it is logical that such person should be stopped from committing further acts detrimental to the administration of the estate, including by eviction from the suit land.
Civil Procedure — Affidavit in Reply — Time Limits — Failure to Comply
The requirement to respond to a notice of motion within 15 days under Order 12 rule 3(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules is mandatory. A party who fails to comply does not entirely lose the right to respond, but should apply for extension of time or leave to file out of time, furnishing sufficient reason. An affidavit filed late without explanation or leave is liable to be struck out.
Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution — Dilatory Application
Where an application for stay of execution has been filed and signed by the registrar but remains unserved on the opposite party for more than six months, it may be seen as intended to frustrate and delay the other party's realisation of the fruits of their judgment, and relying on it to deny consequential orders would be improper. Such an application abates.

Legislation cited (10)

Cases cited (3)

  • In the Goods of Galbraith [1951] P 422
  • In the goods of William Loveday [1900] P 154
  • In the matter of an application for revocation of letters of administration and grant instead to Piwa Clare and Biywaga Joan (Miscellaneous Civil Application No. 53 of 2016)

Full judgment

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

Rwamasaka and Others v Mwanguhya and Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 112 of 2021) [2022] UGHC 66 (29 June 2022)
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.