Wakilii

Sekabira v Commissioner Land Registration (Misc Cause 44 of 2022)

High Court · [2024] UGHCCD 103 · 2024 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review seeking mandamus to compel creation and issuance of substitute and duplicate certificates of title
Decision
Application granted with mandamus compelling creation of substitute and duplicate certificates of title; general damages and costs awarded to applicant

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the Commissioner Land Registration's failure to create and issue substitute and duplicate certificates of title for land comprised in Busiro Block 526 Plot 51, despite the applicant's lawful entitlement as beneficiary and completion of required survey, constituted unlawful exercise of discretion and abuse of statutory power under Registration of Titles Act s.170. Mandamus issued compelling creation of certificates. General damages awarded for breach of statutory duty.

Outcome

Application granted with mandamus compelling creation of substitute and duplicate certificates of title; general damages and costs awarded to applicant

Facts

The applicant was a grandson and surviving beneficiary of the estate of the late Nasanayiri Kakumeme who died on 26 August 1966. The deceased owned land comprised in Busiro Block 526 Plot 51 at Bumpenje, registered as a caveat on main title MRV 193 Folio 5 and recorded on a blue page. Letters of administration were granted to the Administrator General in Administration Cause No. 221 of 1991, but the Administrator General could not transfer the land to the applicant because of lack of a certificate of title. The applicant was in possession and occupation of the land. When the applicant's lawyers requested a search report, Ministry officials advised that the blue page for the suit land was missing. Despite multiple written requests for creation of a substitute blue page file and issuance of substitute and duplicate certificates of title, the Commissioner Land Registration failed to act. A survey report was obtained confirming the plot measured 1.217 hectares (3.00 acres), tallying with the area on title. The Respondent neither filed a response nor appeared at the hearing.

Issues

  1. Whether the Respondent's omission to create and issue a certificate of title to the suit land comprised in Block 526 Plot 51 raises grounds for judicial review?
  2. Whether the Applicant is entitled to the remedies sought?

Orders

  • Declaration that the Respondent's omission and/or failure to create a substitute and duplicate certificates of title on the suit land was unlawful.
  • Order of Mandamus issued compelling the Respondent to create and maintain a substitute title and a duplicate certificate of title for land comprised in Busiro Block 526 Plot 51.
  • General damages of UGX 5,000,000 awarded to the Applicant.
  • Costs of the application awarded to the Applicant.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Illegality — Unlawful Exercise of Statutory Discretion
A public authority acts unlawfully and commits illegality when it omits or fails to exercise a statutory discretion without legal justification, particularly where it is the only body legally mandated to perform the function and its failure causes unfair and unjust treatment.
Judicial Review — Mandamus — Conditions for Grant
An order of mandamus will issue to compel a public authority to perform a statutory duty where the authority has unlawfully omitted or failed to exercise its statutory discretion, the applicant has established entitlement to the action sought, and the authority's failure constitutes illegality amounting to abuse of power.
Land Registration — Substitute Certificate of Title — Duty of Commissioner
Under Registration of Titles Act s.170, the Registrar of Titles has a statutory duty to create and issue certificates of title where the requirements are met. Where a blue page is missing but a claimant establishes lawful entitlement and completes required survey verification, the Commissioner's refusal to create substitute and duplicate certificates constitutes unlawful exercise of discretion.
Judicial Review — Damages — Breach of Statutory Duty
Damages may be awarded in judicial review proceedings where the applicant establishes both a successful claim for judicial review and an additional cause of action such as breach of statutory duty, which would have entitled the applicant to damages in a separate suit. The breach of statutory duty must have occasioned loss and damage to the applicant.
General Damages — Assessment — Administrative Failure
In assessing general damages for breach of statutory duty by a public authority, the court considers the value of the subject matter, the economic inconvenience suffered, and the nature and extent of injury. The purpose is to restore the aggrieved party to the financial position they would have been in had the breach not occurred, in so far as money can do.

Legislation cited (10)

Cases cited (7)

  • Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for Civil Service (1985) AC 375
  • Dr. Lam-Lagoro James v Muni University (HCM No. 7 of 2016)
  • Smart Protus Magara and 13 Others v Financial Intelligence Authority (HCMC No. 215 of 2018)
  • Three Rivers District Council v Bank of England (No. 3) [2003] 2 AC 28
  • X (Minors) v Bedfordshire County Council [1995] 2 AC 633
  • Robert Cuossens v Attorney General (SCCA No. 8 of 1999)
  • Uganda Commercial Bank v Kigozi [2002] 1 EA 305

Full judgment

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

Sekabira v Commissioner Land Registration (Misc Cause 44 of 2022) [2024] UGHCCD 103 (21 June 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.