Wakilii

Ssentongo v Commissioner Land Registration and 4 Others (Miscellaneous Cause No. 13 of 2019)

High Court · [2021] UGHCCD 160 · 2021 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review challenging the Commissioner Land Registration's decision to cancel the applicant's proprietorship on a certificate of title
Decision
Application for judicial review dismissed with costs to the respondents

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the application for judicial review was time-barred, having been filed outside the three-month limitation period prescribed by Rule 5(1) of the Judicature (Judicial Review) Rules 2009. The court further held that even on the merits, the Commissioner Land Registration acted within jurisdiction under Section 91 of the Land Act and followed due process, including according the applicant an opportunity to be heard through proper service by registered post. The application was dismissed with costs to the respondents.

Outcome

Application for judicial review dismissed with costs to the respondents

Facts

The applicant was the registered proprietor of land comprised in Kibuga Block 8 Plot 304. The land originally belonged to the late Moses Sekakozi Musiige who died in 1979, and the Administrator General was appointed administrator of his estate in 1980. In 1990, the land was registered in the names of four persons as joint tenants, including the 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents who were children of the deceased. In 1992, these joint tenants purportedly sold the land to the applicant through an agreement and power of attorney executed by one Ahmed Nyenje. In 2018, the 4th respondent complained to the Commissioner Land Registration that the transactions were illegal because the 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents were minors at the time and never executed the sale agreement or power of attorney. The Commissioner conducted a hearing, which the applicant did not attend despite service by registered post, and cancelled the applicant's registration on 11 September 2018, reinstating the deceased as proprietor. The land was subsequently transferred to the Administrator General and then to the 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents as beneficiaries. The applicant filed this judicial review application on 28 January 2019.

Issues

  1. Whether this application for judicial review was brought within time?
  2. Whether the application is incompetent for failure by the Applicant to exhaust existing remedies under the law?
  3. Whether the application was properly brought against the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Respondents?
  4. Whether the application discloses any grounds for judicial review on the basis of illegality for lack of jurisdiction?
  5. Whether the application discloses any grounds for judicial review on the basis of lack of an opportunity to be heard?

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the Respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Time Limitations — Strict Application
An application for judicial review must be made promptly and in any event within three months from the date when the grounds of the application first arose. Time limitations are substantive provisions of law and failure to bring the application within the prescribed time renders it time-barred, regardless of the merits of the case. The date when grounds first arose is the date of the decision itself, not the date of its implementation or communication.
Judicial Review — Exhaustion of Alternative Remedies — Exceptions
Where a statute provides an alternative remedy by way of appeal, an applicant must ordinarily exhaust that remedy before seeking judicial review. However, the rule of exhaustion is discretionary and not absolute. The court may entertain judicial review where the alternative remedy is not convenient or effective, or where the challenge is based on illegality, ultra vires, procedural impropriety, or fraud, rather than on the merits of the decision.
Judicial Review — Scope — Public Bodies and Public Law Matters
Judicial review is exercised against public bodies or officials in public matters involving claims based on public law principles, not the enforcement of private law rights. Private parties may properly be joined as respondents where the orders sought would fundamentally affect their interests and the principles of fair hearing require their involvement.
Land Registration — Commissioner's Powers — Section 91 Land Act
Under Section 91 of the Land Act, the Commissioner Land Registration has power to cancel a certificate of title that was illegally or wrongfully obtained, without referring the matter to court. The Commissioner's jurisdiction extends to cancelling registrations obtained illegally, which is distinct from investigating fraud. Where the Commissioner establishes that registration was illegal, that is sufficient to invoke the powers under Section 91, and the matter does not fall outside the Commissioner's jurisdiction merely because fraud may also be alleged.
Natural Justice — Right to be Heard — Service of Notice
A public body satisfies the requirement to accord a party an opportunity to be heard where it properly serves notice of a hearing on the party and the party fails or refuses to attend. Service by registered post to the address provided by the party to the public body is effective service. Under Section 91(2a) of the Land Act read with Section 202 of the Registration of Titles Act, the Commissioner may serve notice by registered post to the person's address for service.
Procedural Impropriety — Compliance with Statutory Timelines
Where a statute prescribes timelines for notice before a public body takes administrative action, the public body must comply with those timelines. Under Section 91(2) of the Land Act, the Commissioner must give not less than 21 days' notice of intention to take action. Compliance with statutory procedural requirements is essential to the validity of administrative decisions.

Legislation cited (19)

Cases cited (29)

  • Dawson Kadope v Uganda Revenue Authority (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 40 of 2019)
  • I.P Mugumya v Attorney General (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 116 of 2015)
  • Hilton v Steam Laundry [1946] 1 KB 61
  • Henry Muganwa Kajura v Commissioner Land Registration (Miscellaneous Cause No. 232 of 2019)
  • Fuelex Uganda Ltd v Attorney General and Another (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 048 of 2014)
  • Preston v IRC [1995] 2 All ER 327
  • Hon. Lukwago Erias and Others v Electoral Commission and Others (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 432 of 2019)
  • R v Huntingdon District Council ex parte Cowan and Another (1984) 1 All ER 58
  • Salim Alibhai and Others v Uganda Revenue Authority (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 123 of 2020)
  • Sewanyana Jimmy v Kampala International University (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 207 of 2016)
  • Charles Nsubuga v Eng. Badru Kiggundu and 3 Others (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 148 of 2015)
  • Bernard Mulage v Fineserve Africa Limited and 3 Others (Petition No. 503 of 2014)
  • Speaker of National Assembly v Ngenga Karume [2008] 1 KLR 425
  • Leads Insurance Limited v Insurance Regulatory Authority and Another (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 237 of 2015)
  • Breston Vs IRS 1985 Vol. 2 … Land Reports pg 327
  • Housing Finance Company of Uganda Ltd v Commissioner General URA (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 722 of 2005)
  • Sarah Nakku and Others v Commissioner Land Registration and Another (High Court Civil Appeal No. 064 of 2010)
  • M.P State Agro Industries Development Corporation Ltd v Jahan Khan [2007] 10 SCC 88
  • Centenary Rural Development Bank Limited v Commissioner Land Registration and Another (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 11 of 2017)
  • Hilda Namusoke and 3 Others v Owalla's Home Investment Trust (E.A) Ltd and Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 15 of 2017)
  • Attorney General v Yustus Tinasimiire and Others (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 208 of 2013)
  • Kuluo Joseph Andrew and Others v Attorney General and Others (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 106 of 2010)
  • Arua Kubala Park Operators and Market Vendors' Cooperative Society Ltd v Arua Municipal Council (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 003 of 2016)
  • ACP Bakaleke Siraji v Attorney General (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 212 of 2018)
  • Council of Civil Service Unions and Others v Minister for the Civil Service [1985] AC 374
  • Dr. Lam-Lagoro James v Muni University (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 0007 of 2016)
  • Byrne v Kinematograph Renters Society Ltd [1958] 1 WLR 762
  • Geoffrey Gatete v William Kyobe (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 7 of 2005)
  • Maina v Nairobi Liquor Licensing Court (1973) EA 319

Full judgment

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

Ssentongo v Commissioner Land Registration and 4 Others (Miscellaneous Cause No. 13 of 2019) [2021] UGHCCD 160 (17 November 2021)
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.