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The registered Trustees Of The Church Of Uganda v The Commissioner Land Registration and Another (Miscellaneous Cause No. 153 of 2022)

High Court · [2023] UGHCCD 101 · 2023 Judicial Review Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review by way of Notice of Motion seeking orders of certiorari and mandamus
Decision
Certiorari granted quashing the Commissioner's decision; mandamus orders declined; substantive rights to be determined in a proper suit

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held that the Commissioner Land Registration acted illegally and irrationally by disregarding the technical survey report from the Commissioner for Surveys and Mapping without proper justification, and acted with procedural impropriety by relying on documents from Uganda Land Commission without affording the applicant an opportunity to respond. The court granted certiorari quashing the Commissioner's decision requiring subdivision of the applicant's land but declined to issue mandamus orders, finding that the substantive rights of the parties required determination in a proper suit.

Outcome

Certiorari granted quashing the Commissioner's decision; mandamus orders declined; substantive rights to be determined in a proper suit

Facts

In 1974, President Idi Amin donated freehold land measuring 0.558 hectares (Plot 21 Stanley Road, later Akii-Bua Road) to the Church of Uganda. The land was registered under Uganda Land Commission. In 1996, Uganda Land Commission granted a lease over Plot M180 (0.257 hectares) to Prof. Tarsis Kabwegyere, carved from the same land, without subdividing the freehold title. In 2006, the entire freehold title was vested in the Church of Uganda by vesting order. The Church later discovered the title showed only 0.301 hectares instead of 0.558 hectares. The Commissioner for Surveys and Mapping investigated and concluded that Plot M180 was created without proper survey instructions and should be erased. The Minister for Lands directed the Commissioner Land Registration to implement this report. However, after a public hearing, the Commissioner Land Registration disregarded the survey report, relied on Uganda Land Commission documents not disclosed to the applicant, and ordered the Church to surrender its title for subdivision to create a freehold for the 2nd respondent (successor to Kabwegyere's lease).

Issues

  1. Whether the 1st respondent acted illegally and irrationally when he disregarded and or failed to implement the investigation report of the Commissioner for Surveys and Mapping as directed by the Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, failed to reinstate the original dimensions and acreage of Plot 21 Akii Bua Road and erase Plot M.180 from the cadastral map?
  2. Whether the 1st respondent acted illegally, irrationally, without jurisdiction and with procedural impropriety during the public hearings and in arriving at a wrong decision?

Orders

  • An Order of Certiorari doth issue quashing the decision of the 1st Respondent dated 31st May 2022 requiring a sub division of the land comprised in the applicant's freehold certificate of title for land comprised in Freehold Register Volume 220 Folio 24 Plot 21 Akii Bua Road, Kampala to be carried out to create a separate plot in favour of the 2nd respondent either voluntarily by the applicant surrendering its certificate of title and executing mutation forms or by consequential order of the 1st respondent.
  • Application for an order of mandamus to require the 1st respondent to forthwith cancel the certificate of title in respect of the land comprised in Leasehold Register Volume 2501 Folio 25 Plot M180 Off Akii Bua Road, Kampala declined.
  • Application for an order of mandamus to require the 1st respondent to enter the correct area in the applicant's title as 0.558 hectares declined.
  • Each party to bear their own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Illegality — Exercise of Statutory Powers — Disregard of Technical Expertise
The Commissioner Land Registration, in exercising special powers under section 91 of the Land Act, acts illegally when disregarding technical survey reports from the Commissioner for Surveys and Mapping without due process to establish the correctness of the survey findings, as no land title can lawfully be issued without authentication by the Commissioner for Surveys and Mapping under sections 149 and 150 of the Registration of Titles Act.
Judicial Review — Irrationality — Weight Given to Material Considerations
A decision-maker acts irrationally when manifestly excessive or inadequate weight is accorded to a relevant consideration. Where the Commissioner Land Registration disregards a technical survey report in favour of other evidence without harmonizing the positions, this constitutes a material defect in the decision-making process rendering the decision unreasonable and unlawful.
Judicial Review — Procedural Impropriety — Right to Fair Hearing — Disclosure of Evidence
Procedural fairness requires that persons directly affected by a proposed decision be given adequate notice of information that may influence the final decision. Where a decision-maker relies on new evidence obtained after a hearing without affording affected parties an opportunity to respond to or challenge that evidence, this constitutes procedural impropriety rendering the decision unlawful.
Land Registration — Special Powers of Registrar — Complementarity with Surveys Department
The Commissioner Land Registration's special powers under section 91 of the Land Act to cancel or correct certificates of title must be exercised in complementarity with the technical expertise of the Commissioner for Surveys and Mapping, as no title can be complete without deed plans demarcating the size of land authenticated by the Commissioner for Surveys and Mapping under the Registration of Titles Act and Surveys Act.
Judicial Review — Independence of Decision-Maker — Ministerial Directives
While the Commissioner Land Registration is not bound to mechanically implement ministerial directives or reports from other departments, the Commissioner must exercise statutory powers in accordance with law and cannot disregard technical findings from specialized departments without proper justification or due process involving those departments.
Judicial Review — Remedies — Certiorari and Mandamus — Discretion of Court
Where a court grants certiorari quashing an administrative decision on grounds of illegality and procedural impropriety, it may decline to issue mandamus orders requiring specific substantive actions where serious issues remain to be determined in a proper suit to conclusively deal with the rights of the parties.

Legislation cited (15)

Cases cited (6)

  • Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service [1985] 1 AC 374
  • Rowling v Takaro Properties Ltd [1975] NZLR 62
  • Adrabo v Madira (Civil Suit No. 24 of 2013)
  • Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Ex p. BT3G Ltd [2001] EWCA Civ 1448
  • Hilda Wilson Namusoke & Others v Owalla's Home Investment Trust (E.A) Limited & Another (Civil Appeal No. 15 of 2017)
  • R v Lord President of the Privy Council, ex parte Page [1993] AC 682

Full judgment

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

The registered Trustees Of The Church Of Uganda v The Commissioner Land Registration and Another (Miscellaneous Cause No. 153 of 2022) [2023] UGHCCD 101 (14 April 2023)
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.