Wakilii

Steve Moore and Another v Innocent Ndagijimana (Civil Appeal No. 6 of 2023)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 1279 · 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 challenging failure to award costs
Decision
Appeal dismissed with no order as to costs

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The High Court dismissed an appeal challenging a trial magistrate's failure to award costs. The court held that under section 27 of the Civil Procedure Act, costs are within the court's discretion and an appellate court may only interfere where discretion is not exercised judiciously. The appellants failed to show any matter or information the trial court overlooked in declining to award costs, and did not demonstrate an abuse of discretion.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed with no order as to costs

Facts

The appellants appealed a decision of the Kisoro Chief Magistrate's Court in Civil Suit No. 001 of 2021. The sole ground of appeal was that the trial magistrate erred in failing to award the appellants costs. The appellants sought to have the appeal allowed with costs. No other details of the underlying suit were provided in the judgment.

Issues

  1. Whether the learned Trial Magistrate erred in law and fact when he failed to award the appellants' costs in Civil Suit No. 001 of 2021.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Costs — Discretion of Court — Award of Costs
Under section 27(1) of the Civil Procedure Act, the award of costs is within the discretion of the court, and the court has full power to determine by whom, out of what property, and to what extent costs are to be paid.
Civil Procedure — Costs — Costs Follow the Event — Exceptions
Section 27(2) of the Civil Procedure Act provides that costs shall follow the event unless the court for good reason otherwise orders.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Interference with Discretion on Costs
An appellate court may only interfere with a trial court's failure to award costs where the discretion is found not to be exercised judiciously or where there is an abuse of discretion.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Burden on Appellant — Costs Appeals
To succeed in an appeal against a costs order, the appellant must show the court any matter or information the trial court overlooked in arriving at its decision.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (3)

  • Abeso v Ocen (Civil Appeal No. 19 of 2023)
  • Kwizera v Attorney General (2017 UGSC 3)
  • SDV Transami v Nsibambi Enterprises ([2008] HCB 94)

Full judgment

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

Steve Moore and Another v Innocent Ndagijimana (Civil Appeal No. 6 of 2023) [2025] UGHC 1279 (7 November 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.