Wakilii

Wasswa v Army for Africa Limited and 2 Others (Civil Suit No. 127 of 2020)

High Court · [2021] UGHCCD 163 · 2021 Preliminary Objection Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Preliminary objection on whether the suit abated for failure to take out summons for directions within statutory time limits
Decision
Preliminary objection dismissed; matter to proceed to hearing on merit after proper service on all defendants

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 6 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

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.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 6 times with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Citations rising — 6 citing cases on record, 6 in the most recent three data years. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

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

Held that a civil suit does not abate where the matter has been referred to mediation under the Judicature (Mediation) Rules, as mediation falls within the exception in Order 11A rule 4(e) of the Civil Procedure Rules for cases referred to an official referee or arbitrator. A mediator performs the function of an official referee by hearing parties and reporting to court. The plaintiff is not required to take out summons for directions during mediation.

Outcome

Preliminary objection dismissed; matter to proceed to hearing on merit after proper service on all defendants

Facts

The Plaintiff sued for declarations of ownership of land comprised in Kyaggwe Block 293 Plot 422, claiming trespass by the 1st Defendant who constructed on the land under a freehold title issued by the 2nd Defendant. The Plaintiff claimed to have purchased the land in 2000/2001 with his brother and registered it under mailo tenure in 2011. The 1st Defendant claimed to have purchased the same land from Nafula Rose in 2018 and obtained a freehold certificate in 2019. When the matter came for hearing on 25 October 2021, the 1st Defendant raised a preliminary objection that the suit had abated because the Plaintiff failed to take out summons for directions within 28 days of filing the reply to the defence on 26 February 2021. The Plaintiff's counsel responded that the matter had been referred to mediation on 12 November 2020, which constituted an exception to the summons requirement.

Issues

  1. Whether the suit abated for failure to take out summons for directions within 28 days from the date of the last reply or rejoinder.
  2. Whether there are any remedies available where a suit abates.

Orders

  • Preliminary objection overruled.
  • Suit has not abated.
  • Service of hearing notice to be made on the Defendants for the case to be heard on merit.
  • Proper service of court process to be done on the 3rd Defendant before Order 9 rule 10 procedure can apply.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Abatement of Suits — Summons for Directions — Exception for Mediation
Where a civil suit has been referred to mediation under the Judicature (Mediation) Rules, the plaintiff is not required to take out summons for directions within the 28-day period prescribed by Order 11A rule 2 of the Civil Procedure Rules, as mediation falls within the exception under Order 11A rule 4(e) for matters referred to an official referee or arbitrator.
Civil Procedure — Mediation — Status of Court-Accredited Mediator
A court-accredited mediator performs the function of an official referee of the court by virtue of hearing parties and reporting to court on whether an agreement is reached towards amicable resolution of the dispute, and therefore exercises judicial powers for a specific purpose.
Civil Procedure — Statutory Interpretation — Use of 'Shall' in Legislation
The auxiliary verb 'shall' in legislation ordinarily denotes a compulsory obligation, but may be construed as directory only where the legislative intention so requires, particularly where no right or benefit accrues to anyone or where no public or private right is impaired by a directory interpretation.
Civil Procedure — Abatement — Legislative Intent — Case Management
Order 11A of the Civil Procedure Rules was introduced as a case management mechanism to mitigate delays and inefficiencies in civil proceedings, and a balanced and judicious approach to its application should be adopted by the courts to achieve the desired objective.
Civil Procedure — Service of Process — Adequate Service
Service of court process on a receptionist whose name was unknown and not recorded by the process server does not constitute effective service, and proper service must be effected before default procedures under Order 9 rule 10 can be invoked against a defendant.

Legislation cited (8)

Cases cited (2)

  • MA No. 150 of 2020 Ahumuza Bageine a.k.a Tash
  • Kagimu Moses Gava & others v Sekatawa Muhammed & others (Misc Appeal No. 25 of 2020)

Cases citing this judgment (6)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

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

Wasswa v Army for Africa Limited and 2 Others (Civil Suit No. 127 of 2020) [2021] UGHCCD 163 (29 November 2021)
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.