Wakilii

The Registered Trustees of Fortportal Catholic Diocese v Wekesa (HCT-01-CV-LD-CA 31 of 2018)

High Court · [2024] UGHC 1060 · 2024 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal from the Chief Magistrate's Court challenging denial of costs after successful land suit
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 appeal challenging denial of costs was dismissed. Although costs ordinarily follow the event and the appellant succeeded at trial against a trespasser, the trial Magistrate exercised discretion judiciously by denying costs to promote reconciliation between the church and a respondent who was both a church member and former chairperson instrumental in the church's early development.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed with no order as to costs

Facts

The appellant sued the respondent for trespass on church land at Fort Portal Chief Magistrate's Court. The trial court found in favour of the appellant, determining that the respondent was a trespasser, but denied costs to the appellant. The respondent had been chairperson of the church from 1966 to 1970 and his father participated in developing the church on the suit land. The respondent remained a church member. The appellant appealed against the denial of costs. The respondent was served with hearing notice but did not attend the appeal hearing.

Issues

  1. Whether the trial Magistrate erred in denying the appellant costs without justification after finding that the respondent was a trespasser.

Orders

  • Civil Appeal No. HCT-01-LD-CA-0031 of 2018 dismissed.
  • No order as to costs in the appeal since the respondent did not participate despite service.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Costs — Discretion to Award or Deny — Exercise of Judicial Discretion
Although costs ordinarily follow the event under section 27(1) of the Civil Procedure Act, the award of costs is discretionary and the discretion must be exercised judiciously taking into account the conduct of parties, the history and nature of the claim, the relationship between the disputants, and whether reconciliation should be promoted.
Civil Procedure — Costs — Denial to Promote Reconciliation — Religious Institution and Member
Where a successful plaintiff is a religious institution and the defendant is a member of that institution who was instrumental in its early development, the court may properly exercise discretion to deny costs to the successful party in order to promote reconciliation and maintain a healthy relationship between the parties.

Legislation cited (1)

Cases cited (2)

  • Sonko v Clerk, County Assembly of Nairobi City & 12 others (Petition 14 (E021) of 2021)
  • Jasbir Singh Rai & 3 others v Tarlochan Singh Rai & 4 others (Sup Ct Petition No 4 of 2012)

Full judgment

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

The Registered Trustees of Fortportal Catholic Diocese v Wekesa (HCT-01-CV-LD-CA 31 of 2018) [2024] UGHC 1060 (7 November 2024)
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.