Topic: Buganda Land Succession Law – Succession Registers, Certificates of Succession
Date of Judgment: 27 June 2024
Case Number/Citation: Civil Suit 45 of 2021, 2024 UGHCFD 29
Court: High Court of Uganda at Kampala (Family Division)
Judge: Hon. Lady Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha
Summary Facts of the Case
The Plaintiffs, Nagaddya Winfred, and Nakazzi Monica filed this suit against the Administrator General alleging mismanagement of the estate of their maternal Uncle the late Yowana Ssemakula Gwotoyisenaye.
The Plaintiffs claimed that they were the only surviving relatives of the deceased and that the Administrator General had negligently distributed parts of the estate to illegitimate beneficiaries and failed to provide a true account of the administration.
The deceased, who died childless and intestate on 10 September 1939, had left behind 4 square miles and 211 acres of land, which had been under the administration of the Administrator General since 27 September 2000.
Legal Issues Before the Court
- Whether the plaintiffs have locus standi to institute the suit.
- Whether there are grounds for revocation of the Letters of Administration to the estate of the late Yowana Ssemakula Gwotayisenaye.
- Whether the plaintiffs are entitled to any of the prayers made in the plaint.
The Decision of the Court
The Court held that the plaintiffs did not have locus standi to bring the Suit. It found that neither the plaintiffs nor their mother, Dimintiriya Najjuma (alleged Sister to the deceased), were listed as beneficiaries in the Succession Register of 1940.
The Court noted that the Succession Register indicated that the estate had been fully administered at that time according to the customs of Buganda, and the plaintiffs were therefore not entitled to any share of the estate under these rules.
The Court found that the estate could only be administered upon confirmation by the Buganda Lukiiko and the Kabaka of Buganda and according to the 1940 Succession Register and that the Administrator General had no powers to administer an estate that was already administered under the Buganda Land Succession Law.
The Administrator General’s powers were only limited to the issuance of certificates of succession under the Local Administrations (Performance and Functions), Statutory Instrument No. 150 of 1967, which vested the powers to issue certificates of succession in the Administrator General after the abolition of Kingdoms – a role hitherto performed by the Lukiiko.
This instrument no longer has the force of law in Uganda after its deletion from the Revised Laws of Uganda.
Thus, the Court held that the Administrator General has no Jurisdiction to administer the estate of the deceased which was already administered under the Buganda Succession Law of 1912, and that the Administrator General’s Jurisdiction over the deceased’s estate in this case had lapsed.
Given the Court’s findings on locus standi and the administration of the estate, the court ruled that the plaintiffs were not entitled to any of the reliefs sought.
Key Quote: “Following the findings and recommendations of the Working Group, on September 22, 2023, the Attorney General wrote to the Hon. The Chief Justice and advised that the Local Administrations (Performance and Functions), Instrument S.I No. 150 of 1967 was deleted from the Law Revised Edition and therefore, has no force of law in Uganda. He further advised that the Office of the Administrator General no longer has jurisdiction over estates under Succession Registers and Certificates of No Objection and Letters of Administration cannot be issued in respect of estates under the 1912 Buganda Succession Law. It was also the advice of the Attorney General that Courts should not renew the Letters of Administration held by the Administrator General and private persons in respect of the estates under the Succession Registers once they expire within the timelines in the Succession (Amendment) Act No. 3 of 2022.” – Lady Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha.
Law Applied by the Court
- Section 2 and Section 3 of the Buganda Land Succession Law of 1912
- Report of the Joint Working Committee on Succession Registers and Certificates of Succession, April 2023
- Paulo Kawesa versus the Administrator General and 2 Others, Civil Suit No. 918 of 1993
Counsel on Record
For the Plaintiffs: Sseggwanyi Ssakka of M/S Sseggwanyi Ssakka & Co. Advocates
For the Defendant: Mr. Henry Kuloba Wesaka, Senior State Attorney for the Administrator General
Conclusion
This case illustrates the Administrator General’s lack of Jurisdiction over Estates administered under the Buganda Land Succession Law of 1912.
