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Ssembajjwe Stanley Mukasa v Aisha Nampijja Kayondo and Others (Miscellaneous Application 354 of 2025)

High Court · [2026] UGHC 191 · 2026 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for joinder as defendant in pending civil suit arising from dispute over land ownership and telecommunication mast installation
Decision
Applicant added as defendant to the main suit; respondents to file amended plaint

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court granted the application for joinder, holding that the applicant claiming kibanja interest in the suit land should be added as a defendant where the plaintiff's claim against the existing defendant for illegal occupation would directly affect the applicant's alleged interest, and where the existing defendant relied on permission from the applicant to justify its presence on the land. The court found that joinder was necessary to avoid multiplicity of suits and to enable the defendant to effectively raise its defence, as a common question of ownership would arise if separate proceedings were instituted.

Outcome

Applicant added as defendant to the main suit; respondents to file amended plaint

Facts

The applicant claimed to be the equitable kibanja holder and occupant of land comprised in Block 433 Plot 479, which he acquired in 1993. He also claimed to be the registered proprietor of adjacent land comprised in Block 433 Plot 466. The applicant alleged that the late Kayondo Badru illegally created Plot 479 out of his kibanja in 1996 without consent. In 2023, the 3rd respondent (ATC Uganda Ltd) erected a telecommunication mast on the land pursuant to a license agreement with the applicant. The 1st and 2nd respondents, as administrators of the late Kayondo Badru's estate and registered proprietors of Plot 479, instituted Civil Suit No. 414 of 2025 against the 3rd respondent claiming mesne profits exceeding UGX 500,000,000 for illegal occupation. The 3rd respondent defended on the basis that it had obtained permission from the applicant. The applicant then sought to be joined as a defendant to protect his claimed interest in the suit land.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant should be added as a defendant to Civil Suit No. 414 of 2025.
  2. Whether the affidavit in support contains falsehoods and is argumentative and prolix.
  3. Whether the application is frivolous, vexatious, and an abuse of court process.
  4. Whether the application is barred by limitation.
  5. Whether the Plaintiff has a right to relief against the intended co-defendant arising out of the same transaction.
  6. Whether, if separate suits were brought, there would be a common question of law or fact.

Orders

  • The Applicant Mr. Ssembajjwe Stanley Mukasa is hereby added as a defendant to HCCS No. 414 of 2025.
  • The 1st and 2nd Respondents shall file an amended plaint by 27/03/2026.
  • Other parties shall abide the statutory timelines.
  • The costs of the application be in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Joinder of Parties — Addition of Defendant — Test for Joinder
A person may be joined as a defendant where the plaintiff has a right to relief against that person arising out of the same transaction or series of transactions, and where, if separate suits were brought, a common question of law or fact would arise.
Civil Procedure — Joinder of Parties — Necessity to Avoid Multiplicity of Suits
The court can order a person to be joined as a co-defendant if the orders sought by the plaintiff would legally affect the interests of that person and it is desirable to add that person to avoid multiplicity of suits, or if the defendant cannot effectually set up a desired defence unless that person is joined.
Civil Procedure — Affidavits — Falsehood in Affidavits — Treatment by Court
Where an affidavit is challenged as containing falsehoods, the court can reject the offending parts of the affidavit while accepting the rest, in the same way it rejects inadmissible oral evidence, rather than dismissing the entire application.
Civil Procedure — Preliminary Objections — Determination of Truthfulness of Averments
The truthfulness and evidential value of averments in an affidavit cannot be determined at the preliminary objection stage but only after an evaluation of both parties' affidavits in respect of the substantive issue.
Land & Property — Kibanja Interests — Joinder in Disputes Over Registered Land
Where a party claims a kibanja interest in land that is the subject of litigation between a registered proprietor and a third party who obtained permission from the kibanja claimant, it is not premature to join the kibanja claimant as a defendant even though the validity of the kibanja claim has not yet been determined.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (13)

  • Sirasi Bitaitana v Emmanuel Kananura (Court of Appeal No. 47 of 1976)
  • Mugume v Akankwasa [2008] HCB 682
  • Herman Ssemuju v The Attorney General (Court of Appeal Constitutional Petition No. 1 of 1998)
  • Wadri Mathias and 4 Others v Dranilla Angella (High Court Criminal Revision No. 7 of 2009)
  • Hon Gerald Kafureeka Karuhanga and Another v The Attorney General and 2 Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 060 of 2015)
  • Njeru Town Council v Nyanza Textiles Industries Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 19 of 1992) [1992] UGHC 3
  • Col (Rtd) Dr Kizza Besigye v Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Another (Election Petition No. 1 of 2001)
  • Sekubwa Wilberforce Mpindi v Tinkasimire John and 7 Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 3070 of 2023)
  • Yahaya Kariisa v Attorney General and Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 7 of 1994) [1997] HCB 29
  • Departed Asians Property Custodian Board v Jaffer Brothers Ltd [1999] 1 EA 55
  • Amon v Raphael Tuck & Sons Ltd [1956] 1 All ER 273
  • Justine EMN Lutaaya v Stirling Civil Engineering Co Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 11 of 2002)
  • F.X. Miramago Vs Attorney General (supra)

Full judgment

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Ssembajjwe Stanley Mukasa v Aisha Nampijja Kayondo and Others (Miscellaneous Application 354 of 2025) [2026] UGHC 191 (11 March 2026)
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.