Wakilii

Wycliffe K. Kato v Kizito Abdul Abiola and Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 1415 of 2024)

High Court · [2025] UGHCLD 382 · 2025 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to reinstate civil suit dismissed for want of prosecution under Order 17 rule 5
Decision
Civil Suit No. 292 of 2018 reinstated with liberty to seek hearing date after disposal of related suit

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Court allowed application to reinstate suit dismissed under Order 17 rule 5 for want of prosecution. Where counsel made an honest error in recording the hearing date and the applicant had previously made consistent court appearances, the circumstances favoured reinstatement. The mandatory scheduling conference had not actually been held. Suit reinstated with costs in the cause, with liberty to seek hearing date after disposal of related pending suit.

Outcome

Civil Suit No. 292 of 2018 reinstated with liberty to seek hearing date after disposal of related suit

Facts

Civil Suit No. 292 of 2018 was filed in 2018 and dismissed on 27 June 2024 under Order 17 rule 5 for want of prosecution. Parties had been given pre-trial directions on 3 October 2022 with hearing fixed for 1 April 2023, but counsel for the 2nd Defendant was on study leave. On 12 October 2023, parties reported the Joint Scheduling Memorandum was pending input from defendants. Hearing was rescheduled for 27-30 May 2024. On the hearing date, the plaintiff and his advocate were absent and the suit was dismissed. The applicant's counsel had erroneously entered the wrong date for the pre-trial conference, causing the non-appearance. Prior to this, the applicant and counsel had made consistent court appearances. Another suit, Civil Suit No. 1086 of 2020, was pending concerning the applicant's ownership of the subject land.

Issues

  1. Whether the suit should be reinstated after dismissal for want of prosecution under Order 17 rule 5 where counsel erroneously recorded the wrong hearing date.

Orders

  • Application to reinstate Civil Suit No. 292 of 2018 allowed.
  • Costs in the cause.
  • Applicant at liberty to seek a hearing date after the disposal of Civil Suit No. 1086 of 2020.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Dismissal for Want of Prosecution — Reinstatement — Counsel's Error in Recording Hearing Date
Where a suit is dismissed under Order 17 rule 5 for want of prosecution due to counsel's honest error in recording the wrong hearing date, and the applicant had previously made consistent court appearances, the court may exercise discretion to reinstate the suit in the interest of justice.
Civil Procedure — Order 17 Rule 5 — Mandatory Scheduling Conference — Application Before Conference Held
Order 17 rule 5 contemplates dismissal where no step is taken for six months after the mandatory scheduling conference. Where parties never actually held the mandatory scheduling conference as envisaged under the rule, the strict application of the rule may be relaxed.

Legislation cited (2)

Full judgment

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

Wycliffe_K._Kato_v_Kizito_Abdul_Abiola_and_Another_(Miscellaneous_Application_No._1415_of_2024)_[2025]_UGHCLD_382_(7_November_2025)
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.