Uganda Case Law

Nyapa & Others v The Registered Trustees of the Archdiocese of Tororo

Nyapa & Others v The Registered Trustees of the Archdiocese of Tororo (Civil Appeal 84 of 2023) [2024] UGHC 84 (11 March 2024)

Court

High Court of Uganda

Case number

Civil Appeal 84 of 2023

Judge

Lubega, J

The High Court found that the suit land had been validly donated to the Respondent church by the Appellants' ancestors in 1929 and subsequent years, and that the Appellants' claims to ownership were not supported by credible evidence. The presence of graves on the land was acknowledged, but the evidence established that these graves belonged to donors who had voluntarily given the land to the church, and the Appellants' subsequent claims were based on misunderstanding or lack of knowledge of the historical donation. The court held that the principle of nemo dat quod non habet applied, as the…

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• Ownership Of Land
• Donation Of Land
• Boundary Disputes
• Burial Rights
• Possession And Title

Nafula and Another v Semugengyi and Another (Misc Cause No. 19 of 2023)

Nafula and Another v Semugengyi and Another (Misc Cause No. 19 of 2023) [2023] UGHCLD 23 (10 February 2023)

Court

HC: Land Division (Uganda)

Case number

Misc Cause No. 19 of 2023

Judge

Nkonge, J

The High Court allowed a security company to remain on disputed land pending trial, finding the order necessary to protect the property and not prejudicial to the respondents.

• Interim Orders
• Security Of Property
• Burial Rights
• Registered Proprietorship
• Land-and-property
• Interim-orders

Matsiko v Wandera (141 of 2021)

Matsiko v Wandera (141 of 2021) [2022] UGHCFD 4 (6 June 2022)

Court

HC: Family Division (Uganda)

Case number

141 of 2021

The court found that there is no express law in Uganda regulating burial rights for a person who dies intestate, but the applicable legal framework prioritizes the wishes of the deceased as expressed in a valid, probated will. In the absence of such a will, the surviving spouse is given priority to determine burial arrangements. The purported will relied upon by the applicant was not probated, did not name an executor, and its authenticity was not established. Even if authentic, there was insufficient evidence that the respondent agreed to any burial condition that would waive his rights as a…

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• Burial Rights
• Succession Disputes
• Letters Of Administration
• Wills And Testamentary Documents
• Marital Rights
• Exhumation

Matsiko v Wandera

Matsiko v Wandera (Miscellaneous Cause No. 141 of 2021) [2022] UGHCFD 3 (6 June 2022)

Court

HC: Family Division (Uganda)

Case number

Miscellaneous Cause No. 141 of 2021

Judge

Komuhangi, J

The court found that the purported WILL relied upon by the applicant was not probated, lacked an executor, and was not proven authentic. Even if authentic, there was insufficient evidence that the respondent agreed to waive his burial rights as a surviving spouse. Ugandan law gives priority to the wishes of the deceased as expressed in a valid will, but in the absence of such, the surviving spouse has superior rights to determine burial arrangements. The court applied the Succession Act, Administrator General's Act, and constitutional provisions to conclude that Mr. Emmanuel Wandera, as the w…

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• Burial Rights
• Succession Disputes
• Letters Of Administration
• Intestate Estates
• Priority Of Surviving Spouse

Luseleka and Others v Namalwa

Luseleka and Others v Namalwa (Miscellaneous Application No. 167 of 2021) [2021] UGHCFD 3 (23 November 2021)

Court

HC: Family Division (Uganda)

Case number

Miscellaneous Application No. 167 of 2021

Judge

Khaukha, J

The High Court held that the widow, not the deceased’s half-siblings, had burial rights and could bury him at the matrimonial home in Mukono.

• Burial Rights
• Succession Disputes
• Customary Law Vs Statute
• Letters Of Administration
• Widow Rights
• Intestate Death

Erizafani Wekikye v Bamuwayira & 3 ors (HC.CIVIL. APPEAL NO. 21/93)

Erizafani Wekikye v Bamuwayira & 3 ors (HC.CIVIL. APPEAL NO. 21/93) [1994] UGHCCD 1 (5 April 1994)

Court

HC: Civil Division (Uganda)

Case number

HC.CIVIL. APPEAL NO. 21/93

Judge

Kato, J

The court held that the Limitation Act does not bar the appellant's claim because the alleged trespass is continuous and time runs as long as the respondents remain on the land. However, the appellant failed to prove by evidence that there is a customary law making the burial ground family property. Even if such custom existed, both appellant and respondents are members of the same extended family and would all be beneficiaries, negating the appellant's exclusive claim. The trial magistrate's findings that it would be inequitable to evict the respondents, who have lived on and developed the l…

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• Customary Land Ownership
• Limitation Of Actions
• Trespass To Land
• Burial Rights
• Family Property Disputes