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Semanda and Another v Lake Wamala Farm Ltd and Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 1 of 2021)

High Court · [2022] UGHC 36 · 2022 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for review of orders made in Miscellaneous Application No. 63 of 2019 arising from Civil Suit No. 81 of 2018
Decision
Application for review allowed; ruling in MA No. 63 of 2019 set aside; applicants to be added as parties to Civil Suit No. 81 of 2018

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held that the applicants were aggrieved parties within the meaning of section 82 of the Civil Procedure Act, as the impugned orders deprived them of title in property without according them a hearing. The court found that the trial judge erred in making orders that stretched to third parties who were neither party to Miscellaneous Application No. 63 of 2019 nor Civil Suit No. 81 of 2018. The application for review succeeded. The ruling in MA No. 63 of 2019 was set aside, and the applicants were ordered to be added as parties to Civil Suit No. 81 of 2018 for determination of all questions in controversy.

Outcome

Application for review allowed; ruling in MA No. 63 of 2019 set aside; applicants to be added as parties to Civil Suit No. 81 of 2018

Facts

The 2nd applicant acquired unregistered interests in land around 2007 and was granted Block 427 Plot 207 by Mubende District Land Board in 2012. He subdivided the land into Plots 215, 216, 217, 218 and 219. Plot 219 was eventually transferred to Dr. Odong Jacob. In 2018, Dr. Odong Jacob filed Civil Suit No. 81 of 2018 against the respondents for trespass on Plot 219. The parties agreed to a boundary survey, which found that all subdivisions from Block 427 Plot 207 fell within and encroached on the respondents' Plot 6 Block 291. Dr. Odong Jacob then filed Miscellaneous Application No. 63 of 2019 seeking to add the applicants as defendants. The trial judge granted the application and declared that the certificate of title for Plot 219 was obtained through fraud by the predecessors in title and that Plot 219 encroached on the respondents' land. Civil Suit No. 81 of 2018 was dismissed. The applicants, who were not party to MA No. 63 of 2019 or the underlying suit, sought review of the orders on the ground that they were deprived of their property rights without being heard.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants are aggrieved parties entitled to seek review of orders made in Miscellaneous Application No. 63 of 2019.
  2. Whether the trial judge erred in making declarations affecting third parties who were not party to the application or the underlying suit.
  3. Whether the orders in Miscellaneous Application No. 63 of 2019 should be set aside.

Orders

  • The ruling in MA No. 063 of 2019 is set aside as are its orders.
  • Let the Applicants be added as parties to Civil Suit No. 81 of 2018 so that court can determine all questions in controversy and for the benefit of avoiding future multiplicities of proceedings.
  • Costs shall abide the outcome of the main suit.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Review of Judgment — Aggrieved Party — Definition
An aggrieved party entitled to seek review under section 82 of the Civil Procedure Act is any party who has been deprived of his property, and where court considers a matter for review of an order passed affecting a third party, it must be a person who has suffered a legal grievance.
Civil Procedure — Natural Justice — Right to be Heard — Third Parties
Making orders that have the effect of depriving third parties of interest in land without according them a hearing should as much as possible be discouraged, and the right to be heard is sacrosanct and should sparingly be denied only in rare and deserving circumstances.
Land & Property — Litigation — Determination on Merit
It is a cardinal principle that as far as possible litigation on land matters should be resolved on merit.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Addition of Parties
Under Order 6 Rule 19 of the Civil Procedure Rules, the court may at any stage of the proceedings allow either party to alter or amend pleadings in such manner and on such terms as may be just, and adding parties is pertinent in order to determine all questions in controversy between the parties.
Evidence — Proof of Fraud — Affidavit Evidence
It is not a rule of general application that fraud cannot be proved by affidavit evidence; depending on the nature of the case and the facts and circumstances, it is possible to prove fraud through affidavit evidence which can be tested through cross examination and strict proof under Order 19 Rule 2 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (9)

  • Muhammed Bukenya Allibai v WE Bukenya and Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 56 of 1996)
  • Re-Nakivubo Chemists (U) Ltd, in the matter of the Companies Act (1979) HCB 12
  • Kawdu versus Bever Ginning Co. Ltd, Akot and Others 1929 AIR Nagpar 185
  • Kagoro v Samalien Properties Limited and 4 Others (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 90 of 2020)
  • Fredrick Kabugo Sebugulu v The Administrator General (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 69 of 2010)
  • AlHaji Yahya Balyejusa v Development Finance Company Limited (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 34 of 2000)
  • Mohan Musisi Kiwanuka v Asha Chand (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 14 of 2002)
  • Eastern Bakery v. Castellino, C.A. C.A. No. 30/1958[1958] E.A 461
  • Mulowooza & Brothers Ltd v N Shah & Co. Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 26 of 2010)

Full judgment

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

Semanda and Another v Lake Wamala Farm Ltd and Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 1 of 2021) [2022] UGHC 36 (15 August 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.