Tumheise v Turyasingura (Civil Appeal No. 11 of 2021)

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

Holding

Held that a second appeal from a Chief Magistrate's decision requires leave under Local Governments Act s.32(2)(d) and Magistrates Courts Act s.220(1)(c). Leave must be obtained by formal application filed under Civil Procedure Rules Order 52 rule 1, demonstrating substantial questions of law or miscarriage of justice. A letter requesting certified copies of proceedings does not constitute an application for leave. An appeal filed without leave is incompetent.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed as incompetent for want of leave to appeal

Facts

The parties disputed a piece of land at Rwabusizori which the respondent contended was bought by her late husband Bright and had been encroached on by the appellant. The LC III Court found in favour of the respondent on 15 November 2019. The appellant appealed to the Chief Magistrate's Court at Kabale (Civil Appeal No. 14 of 2019), which dismissed the appeal on 19 February 2021. On 1 March 2021 the appellant filed a memorandum of appeal to the High Court without first obtaining leave to appeal. The appellant's counsel had written a letter on 22 February 2021 requesting certified copies of the judgment and record for purposes of appeal, which counsel argued constituted an application for leave.

Issues

1. Whether the appeal to the High Court was competent where the appellant did not obtain leave to appeal from the Chief Magistrate or the High Court as required by law.
2. Whether a letter requesting certified copies of the judgment and record of proceedings constitutes an application for leave to appeal.

Orders

• Appeal dismissed.
• Costs awarded to the respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Legislation cited (7)

• Local Governments Act 2006 s.32(2)(d)
• Local Governments Act 2006 s.32(3)
• Local Governments Act 2006 s.32(4)
• Magistrates Courts Act s.220(1)(c)
• Magistrates Courts Act s.220(3)
• Magistrates Courts Act s.219(1)
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 52 rule 1

Cases cited (3)

• Degeya Trading Stores v Uganda Revenue Authority (Civil Appeal No. 16 of 1996)
• Sango Bay Estates v Dresdener Bank [1972] EA 17
• UHMG v Katinvuma Broadcasting Ltd t/a Signal FM (Miscellaneous Application No. 270 of 2012)

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