Wakilii

Serunjoji v Kasiwukira (Miscellaneous Application No. 349 of 2012)

High Court · [2012] UGHC 275 · 2012 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to set aside ex parte judgment and decree arising from civil suit
Decision
Ex parte judgment set aside; applicant granted leave to defend

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The court rejected the respondent's preliminary objection that the applicant's affidavit was photocopied or scanned, finding no evidence to sustain the objection. On the merits, the court found that the applicant was out of Uganda when substituted service was effected in July 2008, as he had left in September 2000 and only returned in September 2010. Substituted service by local newspaper advertisement was ineffective where the applicant was abroad; proper service should have been effected out of jurisdiction. The ex parte judgment and decree were set aside and the applicant was granted leave to file his defence out of time.

Outcome

Ex parte judgment set aside; applicant granted leave to defend

Facts

The respondent filed Civil Suit No. 380 of 2008 seeking cancellation of the applicant's registration on land comprised in Kyadondo Block 8 Plot 234 at Namirembe. The applicant was served by substituted service through newspaper advertisement on 1 July 2008 after the respondent claimed he could not be traced. The court entered ex parte judgment ordering cancellation of the applicant's registration. The applicant contended he was not properly served as he was in London at the time, having left Uganda in September 2000. His Ugandan passport expired in 2005 and he was issued a UK passport in August 2008, returning to Uganda only in September 2010. The applicant filed this application to set aside the ex parte judgment.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant's affidavit in support should be struck out on grounds that it was photocopied or scanned.
  2. Whether the applicant was properly served with summons in the underlying civil suit.
  3. Whether the ex parte judgment and decree should be set aside.

Orders

  • The ex parte judgement and decree in civil suit no. 380 of 2008 is set aside.
  • The applicant is granted leave to file his written statement of defence out of time.
  • The costs of the application will follow the event of the main suit.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Affidavit Evidence — Preliminary Objections — Burden of Proof
Where a party alleges in submissions that an affidavit is photocopied or scanned, the objection cannot succeed as a point of law without adducing expert or other authentic evidence to substantiate it, or without cross-examining the deponent after obtaining leave of court.
Civil Procedure — Service of Process — Substituted Service — Defendant Outside Jurisdiction
Substituted service by advertisement in a local newspaper is ineffective where the defendant is outside Uganda. Where a defendant is abroad, proper service must be effected through service out of jurisdiction under Order 5 rules 22 and 26 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
Civil Procedure — Setting Aside Ex Parte Judgment — Proof of Non-Service
Under Order 9 rule 27 of the Civil Procedure Rules, an ex parte judgment may be set aside where the defendant satisfies the court that he was not served with summons or hearing notice. A defendant who was outside Uganda when substituted service was effected locally has not been properly served.
Civil Procedure — Service of Process — Service Through Agent — Alternative Modes of Service
Where a defendant is outside Uganda, service may alternatively be effected on the defendant's agent in Uganda who has been managing the defendant's affairs, rather than through ineffective substituted service by local advertisement.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (2)

  • Mohamed Majambere V Bhakresa Khalil ma 727/2011 arising from cs 133/2010
  • Muzito v Njuki [2005] 2 EA 232

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Serunjoji v Kasiwukira (Miscellaneous Application No. 349 of 2012) [2012] UGHC 275 (6 December 2012)
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.