Wakilii

Ssalongo Lwanga Gerald v Mulindwa Musa and Others (Civil Suit No. 73 of 2020)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 562 · 2025 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for fraud, breach of contract, and unlawful eviction
Decision
Judgment entered in favour of the plaintiff with declarations, eviction order, and general damages awarded

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held that a plaintiff who inherited land from his father, who had occupied it since 1954 and paid busulu continuously, qualified as a bonafide occupant under Land Act s.29 having occupied the land unchallenged for over 12 years from the coming into force of the Constitution. The court found the plaintiff was unlawfully evicted by the defendants but declined to grant a vesting order as the plaintiff had not satisfied all statutory conditions under Registration of Titles Act s.167, including first applying to the Commissioner Land Registration.

Outcome

Judgment entered in favour of the plaintiff with declarations, eviction order, and general damages awarded

Facts

The plaintiff claimed to be a bonafide occupant of land comprised in Mawokota Block 85 Plot 621, having inherited it from his father who purchased a 3.5-acre kibanja from the late S.K. Lubega Yombo, the mailo land owner. The plaintiff's father paid ground rent from 1954 until his death in 1993, after which the plaintiff continued farming and paying busulu. In September 2016, the late S.K. Lubega's family introduced the 1st defendant as the new mailo owner. The plaintiff agreed to purchase the mailo interest for UGX 30,000,000 and paid UGX 18,000,000 in instalments after selling four plots. Before completing payment, agents of the 2nd defendant evicted the plaintiff and destroyed his crops. The 3rd defendant subsequently built a house on the land, claiming to have purchased it from the 2nd defendant despite a caveat lodged by the plaintiff in January 2020. The defendants did not file defences and the matter proceeded exparte.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiff is a bonafide occupant or equitable owner of the suit land?
  2. Whether the plaintiff was unlawfully evicted off his occupancy by the 2nd defendant?
  3. Whether the plaintiff should be issued with a vesting order vesting the suit land in his name?
  4. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

  • Declaration that the 1st defendant breached the contract of sale of land entered between him and the plaintiff for the purchase of his residuary mailo land interest as a kibanja holder dated 27 September 2016.
  • Declaration that the 2nd and 3rd defendants fraudulently and in connivance purchased the suit land well aware of the plaintiff's interest.
  • Eviction order issued against the 2nd and 3rd defendants off land comprised in Mawokota Block 85 Plot 621 Bulansuku-Kavule.
  • Order that the defendants surrender the certificate of title comprised in Mawokota Block 85 Plot 621 Bulansuku-Kavule to the Registrar of Titles, Mpigi.
  • General damages awarded to the plaintiff in the sum of UGX 10,000,000.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Land Law — Bonafide Occupancy — Definition and Requirements under Land Act s.29
A person qualifies as a bonafide occupant under Land Act s.29 if they have occupied and utilised or developed land unchallenged by the registered owner or agent for twelve years or more before the coming into force of the Constitution, including where occupation is inherited from a predecessor who paid busulu continuously.
Land Law — Vesting Orders — Conditions under Registration of Titles Act s.167
Before a court can grant a vesting order under Registration of Titles Act s.167, the applicant must first apply to the Commissioner Land Registration, who must decline to exercise the statutory power, and must satisfy conditions including payment of the whole purchase price, taking possession with the vendor's acquiescence, and inability to obtain a transfer because the vendor is dead, out of jurisdiction, or cannot be found.
Land Law — Unlawful Eviction — Eviction of Bonafide Occupant Without Court Order
A bonafide occupant who has established their status under Land Act s.29 is entitled to protection from eviction, and eviction without a court order constitutes unlawful eviction entitling the occupant to remedies including general damages and an eviction order against subsequent purchasers.
Damages — General Damages — Assessment for Loss of Quiet Enjoyment and Destruction of Crops
General damages are compensatory in nature and are awarded to repair actual loss caused to the claimant, neither to punish the defendant nor confer a windfall on the plaintiff, and may be awarded for denial of quiet enjoyment of land and destruction of crops affecting livelihood.
Evidence — Special Damages — Requirement of Specific Pleading and Strict Proof
Special damages, being damages that relate to past loss calculable at the date of trial and arising from special circumstances of a particular case, must be specifically pleaded and strictly proved, and will be disallowed where not proved.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (4)

  • Ronald Oine v Commissioner Land Registration (Miscellaneous Application No. 90 of 2013)
  • Mugabi John v Attorney General (Civil Suit No. 133 of 2002)
  • W.M Kyambadde v MPIGI District Administration [1984] HCB
  • Lydia Mugambe v Kayita James and Another (Civil Suit No. 339 of 2020)

Full judgment

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

Ssalongo Lwanga Gerald v Mulindwa Musa and Others (Civil Suit No. 73 of 2020) [2025] UGHC 562 (18 June 2025)
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.