Wakilii

Ssekubwa v Commissioner Land Registration & Ors (Misc. Application No. 223 of 2019)

High Court · [2020] UGHCLD 21 · 2020 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for contempt of court arising from failure to execute a consent decree in a civil suit
Decision
Application granted. Land title ordered restored to applicant and irregularly created subdivision titles cancelled.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Commissioner, Land Registration committed contempt of court by failing to execute a valid consent decree directing land transfer and subdivision. The court held that all subsequent dealings over the same land after the applicant's interest was decreed were null and void. The titles irregularly created were cancelled and the land ordered restored to the applicant as per the original decree.

Outcome

Application granted. Land title ordered restored to applicant and irregularly created subdivision titles cancelled.

Facts

The applicant purchased land comprised in Kibuga Block 28, plot 540 from Miriam Kuteesa, the administrator of an estate, for UGX 520,000,000. A consent decree was entered on 27th February 2014 directing the Commissioner, Land Registration to subdivide the land and transfer 1.5 acres to the applicant. The Commissioner failed to comply. Subsequently, in 2016, the administrator received a second payment of UGX 750,000,000 from other parties and entered into inconsistent transactions over the same land, resulting in the creation of plots 1244 to 1247. The applicant was not involved in or notified of these subsequent dealings. Despite notification by a previous Commissioner in September 2016 of irregularities and intention to rectify the register, no corrective action was taken.

Issues

  1. Whether the 1st respondent (Commissioner, Land Registration) committed contempt of court by failing to comply with a consent decree dated 27th February 2014.
  2. What remedies are available where a land registration authority fails to execute a valid court order.
  3. Whether transactions conducted after a consent decree and contrary to its terms are valid.

Orders

  • All dealings, transactions and undertakings by the respondents or their agents in respect of Kibuga Block 28, plot 540 Makerere land made in contravention of the decree in Civil Suit No. 500 of 2013, dated 27th February 2014 are declared null and void.
  • The title of the land duly acquired by the applicant, Wilberforce Ssekubwa is to be restored by the 1st respondent and transferred in the names of the applicant as per the decree issued vide Civil Suit No. 500 of 2013, dated 27th February 2014.
  • The titles created out of the suit land for plots 1244, 1245, 1246, and 1247 were irregularly created and are therefore cancelled.
  • The 1st and 2nd respondents to meet the costs of this application.

Rules and key headnotes

Contempt of Court — Elements — Failure to comply with court order
To prove contempt of court, four elements must be satisfied: existence of a lawful order; the potential contemnor's knowledge of the order; the potential contemnor's ability to comply; and the potential contemnor's failure to comply with the order. The standard of proof must be higher than the balance of probabilities and almost, but not exactly, beyond reasonable doubt.
Contempt of Court — Duty to obey court orders — No exception for belief in invalidity
It is the plain and unqualified obligation of every person against or in respect of whom an order is made by a court of competent jurisdiction to obey it unless and until it is discharged. This obligation extends even to cases where the person affected believes the order to be irregular or void. The person must apply to court to have the order discharged; as long as it exists, it must be obeyed, and disobedience constitutes contempt.
Land Registration — Commissioner's special powers — Duty to rectify register where anomalies detected
Where the Commissioner, Land Registration detects anomalies in land transactions, section 91 of the Land Act empowers and obligates the Commissioner to rectify the register by cancelling irregular entries. The Commissioner must notify interested parties, conduct a hearing in accordance with natural justice, communicate the decision in writing with reasons, and may call the title for cancellation. Failure to exercise these powers where irregularities are apparent may amount to contempt of a related court order.
Land Transactions — Effect of prior decree — Subsequent dealings void
Where a consent decree grants an interest in land to a purchaser, all subsequent transactions over the same land made in contravention of that decree are null and void. A registered owner who has already disposed of land pursuant to a court decree cannot validly transfer the same land to other parties in subsequent transactions.
Remedies — Commitment for contempt — Exercise of discretion
The jurisdiction to commit for contempt should be carefully exercised with the greatest reluctance and anxiety on the part of the court to determine whether there is no other mode which can be brought to bear on the contemnor. An order for imprisonment is properly made where the defendant has refused to do an affirmative act required by a mandatory order, but can only be issued against the specific officer who acted in violation of the order.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (7)

  • Hon Sitenda Sebalu v Secretary General of East African Community (Reference No. 8 of 2012)
  • Semanda David, Fred Mawagi and Isaac Kabito v Kaheebwa Geofrey and Ayebwa Benon (Misc. Application No. 1625 of 2016)
  • Hadkinson v Hadkinson [1952] All ER 567
  • Kisaakye v Kadama (Misc. Application No. 739 of 2016)
  • LC Chuck and Cremier [1896] ER 885
  • Mutikika v Baharini Farm Ltd [1985] KLR 227
  • Re: Contempt of Dougherty 492, Michigan 81, 97 (1987)

Full judgment

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

Ssekubwa_v_Commissioner_Land_Registration_&_Ors_(Misc._Application_No._223_of_2019)_[2020]_UGHCLD_21_(9_November_2020)
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.