Wakilii

Ssemwanga Wilson v Ssebandeke Charles (Civil Appeal No. 059 of 2018)

High Court · [2025] UGHCCD 191 · 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 declaring respondent lawful owner of disputed land and ordering appellant's eviction
Decision
Appeal dismissed with costs to respondent; trial court's declaration of respondent as lawful owner and eviction order against appellant upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the magistrate's decision declaring the respondent lawful owner of the disputed kibanja. Ground one was struck out for being too general and not a valid ground of appeal. Ground two failed because the appellant bore the burden of proving forgery but adduced no evidence. Ground three failed because grave inconsistencies in the appellant's evidence pointed to deliberate untruthfulness regarding whether the deceased brother sold the land, while the respondent produced written agreements proving transfer of ownership.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed with costs to respondent; trial court's declaration of respondent as lawful owner and eviction order against appellant upheld

Facts

The respondent sued the appellant in Chief Magistrate's Court seeking a declaration that the appellant was a trespasser on land at Lwanda Trading Center in Rakai district. The appellant contended the land belonged to his deceased brother Kabogozza Johnson who purchased it in 1983, and that he was appointed caretaker of the deceased's properties. The appellant claimed his brother had a loan relationship with Stephen Ssembajjwe for UGX 100,000 and that Ssembajjwe demolished a two-roomed house on the land as settlement for the debt. The trial magistrate found for the respondent, declared him lawful owner, and ordered the appellant's eviction. The appellant appealed on three grounds relating to evaluation of evidence, handwriting expertise, and disregard of his evidence that his brother never sold the land.

Issues

  1. Whether the trial magistrate erred in law and fact when he failed to properly evaluate the evidence.
  2. Whether the trial magistrate erred in law and fact by acting as a handwriting expert without subjecting purchase agreements to expert opinion.
  3. Whether the trial magistrate erred in law and fact by disregarding the appellant's evidence that his deceased brother had never sold the suit plot.

Orders

  • The appeal is dismissed.
  • The judgment and orders of the trial court are upheld.
  • The appellant shall meet the costs of this appeal.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Grounds of Appeal — Failure to Evaluate Evidence
An attempt to fault the trial court over an alleged failure to evaluate evidence is not a valid ground of appeal where the ground is too general and does not specify in what way and in which specific areas the trial court failed to evaluate the evidence or the particular wrong decision arrived at.
Evidence — Burden of Proof — Allegations of Forgery
Under section 101 of the Evidence Act, the burden of proof lies with the party who alleges the existence of facts. Where a party alleges that documents are forgeries, that party bears the burden of adducing evidence to prove the forgery, including seeking court's assistance to compel forensic examination if necessary.
Evidence — Inconsistencies — Grave Inconsistencies and Deliberate Untruthfulness
Where grave inconsistencies occur in a party's evidence, the evidence may be rejected unless satisfactorily explained. Inconsistencies that point to deliberate untruthfulness to obscure the truth warrant rejection of that party's evidence.

Legislation cited (3)

Cases cited (6)

  • Uganda Revenue Authority v Rwakasanje Azariu & 2 Others (Civil Appeal No. 8 of 2007)
  • Fr. Narsensio Begumisa and 3 Others v Eric Kibebaga (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 17 of 2002)
  • Banco Arabe Espanol v Bank of Uganda (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 8 of 1998)
  • Ronchobhai Shivabhai Patel Ltd v Henry Wambuga & Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 6 of 2017)
  • Attorney General v Florence Baliraine (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 79 of 2003)
  • Uganda v Abdallah Nassur [1982] HCB

Full judgment

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

Ssemwanga Wilson v Ssebandeke Charles (Civil Appeal No. 059 of 2018) [2025] UGHCCD 191 (3 February 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.