Wakilii

Stephen Busima Masibo v Attorney General (Civil Suit 19 of 2002)

High Court · [2003] UGHC 126 · 2003 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Second application to set aside dismissal and reinstate earlier application for prerogative orders
Decision
Application dismissed; preliminary objection upheld on grounds of abuse of court process

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that where an application to set aside a dismissal for non-appearance is itself dismissed, a party cannot bring a second application seeking the same remedy without first appealing or seeking review of the dismissal order. To permit successive applications would result in endless litigation and constitute an abuse of court process. The court must enforce finality; orders remain in force until set aside by proper appellate or review procedures. Application dismissed.

Outcome

Application dismissed; preliminary objection upheld on grounds of abuse of court process

Facts

The applicant was granted leave to apply for prerogative orders. The resulting application (HCMA 66/2001) was dismissed for non-appearance on 6 November 2001. The applicant filed a first application to set aside the dismissal (HCMA 131/2001). When that application came up for hearing on 4 February 2002, neither party appeared and it was dismissed under O.9 r.14 CPR. The applicant then filed a second application (HCMA 19/2002) seeking to set aside the dismissal of, and reinstate, the original prerogative orders application (HCMA 66/2001). The applicant claimed his counsel was sick and that he was prevented by sufficient cause from attending the hearing dates. The respondent raised a preliminary objection that the second application was incompetent and an abuse of court process.

Issues

  1. Whether a party whose application to reinstate a dismissed suit was itself dismissed may bring a second application to reinstate the same dismissed suit.
  2. Whether bringing a second application to reinstate amounts to an abuse of court process.
  3. Whether the applicant showed sufficient cause for non-appearance justifying reinstatement.

Orders

  • Preliminary objection upheld.
  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Applications to Set Aside Dismissal for Non-Appearance — Successive Applications — Abuse of Process
Where an application to set aside the dismissal of a suit for non-appearance is itself dismissed, a party cannot bring a second application seeking the same remedy without first appealing or seeking review of the dismissal order, as to do so would be an abuse of court process and result in endless litigation.
Civil Procedure — Dismissal for Non-Appearance — Reinstatement — Sufficient Cause
Under Order 9 rule 20 of the Civil Procedure Rules, a court may set aside a dismissal for non-appearance if satisfied that the applicant honestly intended to attend and did his best to do so but was prevented by sufficient cause; lame excuses such as being within court precincts but not called do not constitute sufficient cause.
Civil Procedure — Court Orders — Finality — Compliance
Where a court has made an order dismissing an application, that order remains in force until set aside by appeal or review; it is an abuse of process to ignore the order and bring further proceedings seeking the same remedy without first dealing with the dismissal order through proper appellate or review channels.

Legislation cited (6)

  • Civil Procedure Rules O.9 r.20
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.9 r.19
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.9 r.14
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.48 rr.1
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.48 rr.3
  • Civil Procedure Act s.101

Cases cited (2)

  • N.I.C. v Mugenyi & Co. Advocates [1987] HCB 28
  • Meshallum Waweru Wanguku v Kamau Kania (CA No. 101 of 1984)

Full judgment

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

Stephen Busima Masibo v Attorney General (Civil Suit 19 of 2002) [2003] UGHC 126 (26 June 2003)
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.