Wakilii

Ssalongo Semuli and Others v Lwese Ronald (Civil Appeal No. 28 of 2024)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 1105 · 2025 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from Chief Magistrate's Court decision on land possession dispute
Decision
Appeal dismissed; trial court decision upholding respondent's possession affirmed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the trial magistrate's finding that the respondent had been in uninterrupted possession of the suit kibanja for 17 years until his forceful eviction in 2022. The court held that the trial magistrate did not rely on the disputed will but on the totality of evidence establishing possession. The appellants failed to prove they had been in possession or that they had granted the respondent a revocable license. Section 5 of the Limitation Act protected the respondent's long possession.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed; trial court decision upholding respondent's possession affirmed

Facts

The respondent claimed his late father, Zizinga Kigongo Drake, was gifted a kibanja measuring 1.5 acres at Mpenja, Ngomanene, Kawuga, Bugago, Tiginya, Gomba District. The father took possession by cultivation until his death in 2008. The respondent's family continued occupation, growing crops and paying busulu until April 2022 when the appellants forcefully evicted them. The appellants claimed they had been in occupation since the death of their father, Tomusange Wasswa, cultivating coffee plantations, and that they had only permitted the respondent to cultivate 15 decimals as a licensee. The trial magistrate found for the respondent after visiting the locus in quo and finding the respondent had been evicted after 17 years of uninterrupted possession. The appellants appealed on six grounds, primarily challenging the validity of a will and the trial magistrate's findings on possession and identification of the land.

Issues

  1. Whether the trial magistrate erred in relying on an invalid will to determine ownership of the suit kibanja.
  2. Whether the suit kibanja formed part of the estate of the late Zizinga Kigongo Drake.
  3. Whether the trial magistrate correctly applied Section 5 of the Limitation Act to protect the respondent's possession.
  4. Whether the trial magistrate correctly identified the suit kibanja.
  5. Whether the respondent had been in uninterrupted possession of the suit kibanja for 17 years.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the respondent.
  • Right of appeal explained.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — First Appellate Court — Duty to Re-evaluate Evidence
The first appellate court has the duty to re-evaluate the evidence, taking into account that it never observed the witnesses nor visited the locus in quo, and must subject the evidence to fresh scrutiny and come to its own conclusions.
Succession & Estates — Wills — Validity — Attestation Requirements
A will that does not comply with the attestation requirements under Section 47(c) of the Succession Act, including attestation by two witnesses, is invalid and cannot be relied upon by a court.
Land & Property — Customary Land — Possession — Uninterrupted Possession as Evidence of Title
Where a party demonstrates uninterrupted possession of a kibanja for 17 years, growing crops and paying busulu, such possession constitutes strong evidence that the land forms part of the possessor's estate, particularly where the opposing party cannot prove prior possession or a valid grant of license.
Land & Property — Limitation — Protection of Possessor
Section 5 of the Limitation Act protects a party who has been in long, uninterrupted possession of land, and where no exception to the limitation period is raised or proven, the possessor's rights are preserved.
Succession & Estates — Distribution of Estate — Role of Clan
It is not the duty of a clan to distribute land forming part of a deceased's estate; such distribution is the function of the administrator of the estate.
Evidence — Burden of Proof — License to Occupy Land
A party alleging that another occupied land as a licensee bears the burden of proving both the grant of the license and any revocation thereof. Mere assertion without supporting evidence is insufficient.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (2)

  • Fredrick J.K Zaabwe v Orient Bank Ltd and Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 4 of 2006)
  • Administrator General v Morrah and Another (Administration Cause No. 544 of 1990)

Full judgment

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

Ssalongo Semuli and Others v Lwese Ronald (Civil Appeal No. 28 of 2024) [2025] UGHC 1105 (12 September 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.