Wakilii

Sheik Kibungo Umar Bakasambe v The Commissioner Land Registration (Miscellaneous Cause No.333 of 2020)

High Court · [2021] UGHCCD 285 · 2021 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review seeking mandamus order to compel land registration
Decision
Mandamus order granted directing Commissioner Land Registration to issue certificates of title and register applicant as proprietor within 60 days

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that where an applicant purchased land in 1989, paid all requisite stamp duty and registration fees, obtained tax clearance in 1994, but the land office lost the transfer documents, and the applicant remained in unchallenged possession for over 30 years, the Commissioner Land Registration has a duty to issue certificates of title. A mandamus order was granted directing the respondent to register the land in the applicant's name within 60 days.

Outcome

Mandamus order granted directing Commissioner Land Registration to issue certificates of title and register applicant as proprietor within 60 days

Facts

The applicant purchased land comprised in Kyadondo Block 82 Plots 685, 686 and 662 from Hamisi Mukasa and Brothers in 1989. Transfer forms were signed and the applicant paid all requisite stamp duty, sub-division and registration fees. In 1994, the applicant obtained tax clearance to enable issuance of certificates of title. However, all documents lodged with the land office were misplaced or lost. The applicant has been in continuous unchallenged possession of the land for over 30 years, with a family house, mosque, burial grounds and subsistence farming. The land has no encumbrances, mortgages or competing claims. Administrators of the estate of the late Zakaria Musitwa, a substantial shareholder in H. Mukasa & Bros, confirmed the sale and attempted to complete the transaction in 2015. The applicant made two applications for vesting orders in February and September 2020, but the respondent made no response. The respondent did not oppose the application or file any affidavit in reply.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant is entitled to have the land comprised in Kyadondo Block 82 Plots 685, 686 and 662 Land at Kungu be registered in his name.
  2. Whether the applicant is entitled to the remedies sought.

Orders

  • An Order of Mandamus issues directing the Respondent and any other person acting on authority therefrom to issue certificates of land title for land comprised in Kyadondo Block 82 Plots 685 & 686 and 662 Land at Kungu and register the applicant therein as the registered proprietor.
  • The respondent is directed to issue the certificates of title within 60 days from the date of delivery of this ruling.
  • The applicants should meet their own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Mandamus — Requirements for Issuance — Clear Legal Right and Corresponding Duty
An applicant for an order of mandamus must establish: (a) a clear legal right and corresponding duty on the respondent; (b) that some specific act or thing which the law requires that particular officer to do has been omitted to be done; (c) lack of an alternative remedy; or (d) that an alternative exists but is inconvenient, less beneficial or totally ineffective.
Land Registration — Loss of Documents by Land Office — Duty to Issue Title
Where a purchaser has paid all requisite stamp duty and registration fees, obtained tax clearance, lodged all necessary documents with the land office, but the land office lost or misplaced those documents, the Commissioner Land Registration has a duty to take responsibility for the missing documents and exercise its powers to have the land transferred and registered in the purchaser's name.
Adverse Inference — Failure to File Affidavit in Reply
Where a respondent fails to file an affidavit in reply to contradict or rebut evidence adduced by an applicant, an adverse inference may be drawn that the respondent has nothing in answer, and the respondent's silence may convert the applicant's evidence into proof in relation to matters within the knowledge of the silent party.
Land Registration — Unchallenged Possession — Evidence of Ownership
Unchallenged possession of land for over 30 years, together with payment of stamp duty and registration fees, tax clearance, and confirmation by the vendor's estate administrators, constitutes sufficient evidence of legal ownership to warrant registration of title.

Legislation cited (12)

Cases cited (3)

  • Wisniewski (A Minor) v Central Manchester Health Authority [1998] EWCA Civ 596
  • Hon Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire & Others v Attorney General (Miscellaneous Application No. 783 of 2016)
  • David Kato Luguza & Another v Evelyn Nakafeero & Another (HCCA No. 37 of 2012)

Full judgment

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

Sheik Kibungo Umar Bakasambe v The Commissioner Land Registration (Miscellaneous Cause No.333 of 2020) [2021] UGHCCD 285 (21 January 2021)
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.