Wakilii

Wasswa and Another v Mutawe sendikwanawa (Civil Suit 1029 of 1995)

High Court · [1997] UGHC 18 · 1997 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for recovery of land
Decision
Defendant ordered to vacate the suit land within six months; lease to be cancelled from certificate of title

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that where a lessee elects to purchase the reversionary interest in leased land and enters into a sale agreement, the lease ceases to exist upon execution of the sale agreement. The relationship between the parties becomes that of vendor and purchaser. Where the purchaser fails to pay the balance of the purchase price as agreed, he breaches the sale agreement and has no lawful right to remain on the land. The doctrine of estoppel by election prevents the defendant from asserting the continued validity of the lease after electing to purchase the reversionary interest.

Outcome

Defendant ordered to vacate the suit land within six months; lease to be cancelled from certificate of title

Facts

The defendant held a 49-year lease over part of land comprised in Kibanja Block 7 Plot 225 at Ndeeba from 7 June 1962 at an annual rent of UGX 280. In 1992, the defendant elected to purchase the reversionary interest in the leased land from Christopher William Mukasa Batte (the beneficial owner and father of the plaintiffs) for UGX 420,000. The defendant paid UGX 130,000 as part payment and received the certificate of title as security. Under the sale agreement dated 24 February 1992, the balance of UGX 290,000 was to be paid in two instalments: UGX 150,000 on 14 March 1992 and UGX 140,000 on 18 April 1992. The defendant failed to pay the balance. Following the death of Mukasa, the plaintiffs succeeded to the land and brought this suit for recovery of possession, contending that the lease had ceased to exist upon execution of the sale agreement and that the defendant was occupying the land without right following his breach of the sale agreement.

Issues

  1. Whether the defendant has any colour of right in the suit premises.

Orders

  • Judgment passed in favour of the plaintiffs.
  • Declared that the plaintiffs are the owners of the suit land.
  • Defendant ordered to vacate the suit land within six months from the date of judgment.
  • Registrar of Titles to cancel the lease on the certificate of title.
  • Taxed costs of the suit awarded to the plaintiffs.

Rules and key headnotes

Land & Property — Leases — Effect of Sale of Reversionary Interest — Termination of Lease
Where a lessee elects to purchase the reversionary interest in leased land and enters into a sale agreement with the lessor, the lease ceases to exist upon execution of the sale agreement. A lease is an estate for a specific period, whereas purchase of the reversionary interest confers an estate for an indefinite period. These two estates cannot co-exist in the same person as both owner and lessee.
Contract Law — Breach of Contract — Sale of Land — Non-Payment of Purchase Price
Where a purchaser of land pays part of the purchase price and receives the certificate of title as security but fails to pay the balance as agreed, he is in breach of the sale agreement and has no lawful right to remain in occupation of the land.
Contract Law — Estoppel by Election — Recognition of Vendor's Capacity
Where a lessee elects to pay rent to a person whom he recognises as having capacity to receive it as the beneficial owner, and subsequently enters into a contract to purchase the reversionary interest from that same person, he is estopped from later asserting that the vendor lacked locus to sell. The doctrine of estoppel by election provides that where a party has an option to choose between two things and makes his election, it is final and cannot be retracted.
Land & Property — Relief from Forfeiture — Scope of Judicature Statute s.27
Section 27 of the Judicature Statute 1996 empowers the High Court to grant relief against forfeiture only in cases of non-payment of rent under a lease. It does not apply to cases of breach of a contract for the sale of land where the lease has ceased to exist upon execution of the sale agreement.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Judicature Statute 1996 s.27

Cases cited (3)

  • Scraf v Jardine [1882] 7 App Cas 345
  • Ambu Nair v Kehi Nair (1933) 35 Bom LR
  • Butaqira v Namukasa (Civil Appeal No. 6 of 1989)

Full judgment

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

Wasswa and Another v Mutawe sendikwanawa (Civil Suit 1029 of 1995) [1997] UGHC 18 (7 February 1997)
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.