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HOW TO INSTITUTE SMALL CLAIMS IN UGANDA

What is a small claim?It is a civil claim that does not exceed ten (10) million Uganda shillings.A small claim does not include; Family disputes relating to the management of an estate, a claim against the Government, a suit for defamation, malicious prosecution, wrongful imprisonment, wrongful arrest or seduction, a petition for divorce, nullification of marriage or separation of spouses, a case involving the validity of a will;It also does not include a claim in which specific performance is s...




Sobi: The notorious city robbery

For several years, Paddy Sserunjogi, alias Sobi, allegedly terrorized Kampala City with his gang of about 30 to 50 men. According to the police, Sobi’s gang conducted a range of criminal activities including petty theft, robbery and murder in the Kampala central business district and the city suburbs. Police say while many members of his alleged gang were arrested and convicted for crimes they committed, Sobi was always released on bail whenever they arrested and took him to court....





land law - caveats

Land Law.In case there is a conflict over ownership of land and one feels like the other party in the conflict is likely to sell or dispose off the land, one can lodge a caveat at the land registry.A caveat is simply a notice stating that certain actions may not be taken without informing the person who gave the notice. So in case you lodge a caveat, your land cannot be sold or transferred without you being notified. A caveat is lodged by filling a form (form for lodging a cave...


commercial law - employment

When looking at employment contracts you must pay keen attention to the following clauses1.      Termination terms.It is important to know what circumstances or behavior can lead to your termination. It is important to understand how much notice your employer should give you before he or she can terminate your contract and if there is an option to pay compensation in lieu of notice.It is also important for the employee to know about retirement age and what benefits...


family law - adoption

ADOPTIONAdoption is the legal process whereby a person permanently assumes parental rights and responsibilities for a child from his or her biological parents.Who can adopt?1.      Citizen ·        Any person of 25 years of age and above can adopt but he or she must be at least 21 years older than the child.·        A couple must adopt jointly·        The pe...


land law - fraud

FRAUD.Fraud is defined as dishonest dealings in land.Incidents of Land Fraud.1.      Acquiring a special certificate of title by pretending to be the owner of land.2.      Forging powers of attorney with intention to acquire or sell land that is not yours.3.      Not disclosing the true amount paid for a land transaction.4.      Double titling land (when land is given two land titles).5. &n...


civil procedure - defamation

Defamation.Defamation is the act of damaging the good name/ reputation of someone. This is an offence and one can sue someone for defaming him or her.For one to prove defamation he must show that the other person said / published something capable of damaging his good name / reputation in the eyes of right thinking members of the community. The defence available for one accused of defamation is him / her giving evidence to the effect that the information said or published is true...


family law - succession

TESTATE AND INTESTATE SUCCESSION.Testate succession occurs when a person dies and leaves a valid will. Intestate succession occurs when a person dies without a will.A will is a written legal document that states what property you own and how you would like it to be divided after your death. A will also states who should be in charge of dividing the property. A will has no effect until the testator (the one who has written it) dies.To make a will one must be at least 21 years of age. The e...


Miscarriage of justice? When a magistrate sentenced murderers to a caution

On April 14, 2012, John Sseruyinda, a fruit vendor at Nakasero Market, woke up and raced to work like he had always done. Sseruyinda’s hope was to make money and return home with food for his family. As Sseruyinda continued with his work, something bothered him and needed to be resolved. He believed that his and other vendors’ rights were being violated and could not just sit down and let it pass. Nakasero Market leadership was still collecting money from vendors in spite of Kamp...


The love triangle that ended in an acid attack

When Norah Kasakya was invited by her former lover to go for an outing, she didn’t know he had ill intentions. It all started when Idi Wamini, a resident of Bukasya in Mbale District, invited her on August12, 2014 to go at Premier League Lodge in Malare Trading Centre, Bukasya Sub-county in Mbale District. The aim was to end his former lover’s life with acid. Kasakya was married to Abdullah Maasa, a resident of Nakaloke village, Nakaloke Sub-county in Mbale District. She told he...


land law - fraud

FRAUD.Fraud is defined as dishonest dealings in land.Incidents of Land Fraud.1.      Acquiring a special certificate of title by pretending to be the owner of land.2.      Forging powers of attorney with intention to acquire or sell land that is not yours.3.      Not disclosing the true amount paid for a land transaction.4.      Double titling land (when land is given two land titles).5. &n...


Defilement: The disease

A 17-year-old girl in Kitgum was abducted on her way to school, and repeatedly defiled by a man early this year. At first, the girl managed to escape and crossed the border into Kenya seeking safety. Then the man, according to Ms Norah Namatovu, a lawyer at FIDA (The Uganda Association of Women Lawyers) who first narrated this story in a recent sexual violence meeting in Kampala, met with some people who eventually forced her back to Uganda. The man repeatedly defiled Jane (not her ...


land law - tenancy

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criminal - murder

Children help identify grandmother’s killers  It wasn’t bad timing, the crime would have taken place without tracing any suspects. And at 8pm on the night of July 13, 2004, a killing at Kangore, Sheema County happened. Jolly Ntegyereize, an elderly woman, had just served her two grandchildren, Richard Nimusiima and Wilbert Ahimbisibwe, supper. Both her grandchildren were below 12 years. The trio this time had their supper in the kitchen. Being young, they rested near the fire...


Flogged and hidden in the ceiling

On July 30, 2011, the DPC Old Kampala Police Station then, Mr Siraje Bakaleke, and his men led a rescue operation of three children who had been allegedly abused, tortured and hidden in a ceiling board by their abusive father. The rescue operation likened to movie scenes by American movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, were carried out in Nakulabye, a Kampala suburb, where the father of the children stayed. The names of his three children have been concealed since they are minors. Acc...


commercial law - contracts

 1.      Non-compete clauses in contracts.A non-compete clause prevents the employee from unfairly competing against the employer during employment and after it ends. So non complete clauses are mainly in employment contracts. A non-complete clause should not be unfair in stopping   an employee from completely practicing their profession or skill since one has a right to practice their profession and earn from it. Such clauses should not be too restr...


Squatters kill landlord in land dispute

Patrick Tenywa had had a long and tedious court battle over a piece of land which had many squatters at Bulwamaza zone in Kitayungwa Sub-county, Kamuli District. Like many land cases in court, it took very long to be disposed of. Finally in 2005, court ruled in his favour. His family celebrated the victory. The other party grudgingly accepted the court ruling. Life at Bulwamaza continued uninterrupted for a while. But in 2013, Tenywa wanted to open up boundaries of his land and also ...


How a Toyota Prado stolen at Busega was traced to Congo

When Samuel Lukanga, a 54- year-old traditional doctor in Busega, Kampala, was called by his driver, John Mutumba at about midnight, his heart skipped a beat. Instinct told him the call bore bad news. Had he been involved in an accident? Had he been arrested for one reason or another? Why did he not simply drive home as he usually does, hoot at the gate, enter and park the car in the driveway? When he answered the phone, he had a rather agitated voice on the line. The driver confirme...


criminal law - murder

Iron bar hit men brutally end Gatare’s life on New Year’s Eve On New Year’s Eve, Andrew Gatare, 23, and his brother Rodney Gatare, 25, were eagerly preparing for 2015.Like many people in the world, who believe in celebrating the New Year, they didn’t want such a moment to pass them by. As the sun set on December 31, 2014, Rodney, a systems accountant at ministry of Finance and a resident of Kololo, an upscale area in Kampala, thought it would be wise to enter the New Year gi...


Children help identify grandmother’s killers

It wasn’t bad timing, the crime would have taken place without tracing any suspects. And at 8pm on the night of July 13, 2004, a killing at Kangore, Sheema County happened. Jolly Ntegyereize, an elderly woman, had just served her two grandchildren, Richard Nimusiima and Wilbert Ahimbisibwe, supper. Both her grandchildren were below 12 years. The trio this time had their supper in the kitchen. Being young, they rested near the fire place as their grandmother prepared a few things ...


criminal law - robbery

How a Toyota Prado stolen at Busega was traced to CongoWhen Samuel Lukanga, a 54- year-old traditional doctor in Busega, Kampala, was called by his driver, John Mutumba at about midnight, his heart skipped a beat. Instinct told him the call bore bad news. Had he been involved in an accident? Had he been arrested for one reason or another? Why did he not simply drive home as he usually does, hoot at the gate, enter and park the car in the driveway? When he answered the phone, he had a rath...


criminal law - murder

Man murders father-in-law for failing to return bride price  In July 2012, Margaret Anjawao introduced her fiancé, Ambrose Eledu, to her parents, Charles Asili, 51, and Stella Amuge in a pompous customary wedding. Eledu, a shopkeeper at Enagus Trading Centre in Kamunda Sub County, Soroti District, went with four cows, two goats and Shs 240,000 as bride price. Anjawao’s relatives were satisfied with the bride price and handed over their daughter to start marriage life. Barely a...


family law - divorce

DIVORCE.Under the Divorce act there are three recognized grounds for divorce being Adultery, Desertion and Cruelty.Adultery is where one’s spouse “cheats” on him or her, this is through having sexual intercourse with another person. Desertion is where a spouse leaves the other without permission, consent or reasonable excuse and stays away for a period of over 2 years and Cruelty is where one spouse is physically or mentally torturing the other this is through actually physically be...


criminal law - defilement

Security guard tracked, caught for defiling a five year old girl.A private guard attached to Arafa Security Group took advantage of darkness to grab a five-year-old girl and defile her. Mr Kaloli Walimbwa, 34, a resident of Mooni village, Bungokho-Mutoto Subcounty in Mbale District was a good friend to the victim’s father, Mr Moses Esera. The suspect and the victim are all residents of the same area. He met the young girl at around 8pm as she was going to Mooni Trading Centre for supper...


family law - matrimonial property

MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY.A marriage is a legal union of a couple as husband and wife.Matrimonial property is property which the parties to a marriage choose to call home and which they jointly contributed to. So property where the family stays or earns a living from is matrimonial property so it is owned by both the husband and wife.The contribution needed for one to have a share in matrimonial property can be direct or indirect. Direct contribution is through monetary contribution to the build...


Woman lured to Malaysia with job offer and forced into prostitution

Nalu spent two years looking for a job in vain after completing a diploma in Mass Communication. When Dalvin Mwesigwa reportedly told her about employment opportunities in Malaysia, she thought this was an opportunity she could not afford to miss. Nalu says Mwesigwa and his colleague told her that she could earn about $6,000 (Shs15, 558,188) per month in Malaysia. “I was assured that all I had to do was give my passport to them and the travel documents would be processed and I tr...


criminal law - causing financial loss

Young bank manager who stole Shs780mIn 2009, 28-year-old Abdul Kharim Kaluuma was punching above his weight in financial terms and indeed his fists were making an impact among his peers, family and workmates. By 2010, as some of his formers classmates were still struggling to look for employment, he was already a proud owner of a piece of land inLubya village, Rubaga Division in Kampala. His bank account was ‘fat’.At home, he would keep more thanShs20m for miscellaneous spending.He ...


criminal law - plea bargaining

PLEA BARGAINING.This is the process by which the prosecution and the defendant (accused) reach an agreement whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty (agrees to have committed the crime) in return for some sort of concession like reduction of sentence, withdrawal of some charges, reduction of a charge from a more serious charge to a lesser charge and leniency in sentencing.Plea bargaining has helped to reduce on the problem of case back log in Uganda, in that most defendants choose this...


commercial law - taxation

Under the new Tax Appeals Tribunal Amendment Act of 2021 there is a right to appeal to the Court Of Appeal and Supreme Court....


commercial law - company registration

PROCEDURE AND DOCUMENTS FOR COMPANY REGISTRATION 1.      On written application the Registrar may reserve name pending registration of a company. The reservation remains for a period of thirty days. A name is reserved by one picking up a name reservation form from Uganda Registration of Services Bureau (URSB) and filling in three choices of names he would love to use, the first being the most preferred.2.      They proceed and get a lawyer...


Woman’s thirst for wealth forces her to steal baby

First, it was the breast that triggered Abdullah Kasendwa’s curiosity. Kasendwa stole a glance as Nakabazi gently pulled her blouse to expose her breast. She then nervously covered it. Shyly, he too looked the other side. When she pulled the blouse up again to pick the second breast, Kasendwa could not resist having a second chance. Twice his eyes had landed on the long thin breasts. “They were unbelievably thin,” Kasendwa said. Even the baby she was carrying rejected them and ...


Girl raped by "good Samaritan"

When Loyce sent her 16-year-old daughter to Bubirabi Trading Centre in Bumboi Sub-County, Mbale District to go buy drugs at 6pm, she did not know she was pushing her into the claws of a rapist. It all started on February 27, 2015 at about 6.30pm when an unknown boda boda cyclist stopped and engaged Mutonyi who was on her way back home after buying drugs for her mum in a conversation for about 20 minutes. The boda boda cyclist then offered to give Mutonyi a lift, which she accepted. A...


criminal law- robbery

Army veteran’s tip leads detectives to armed robbersAt about 3pm, Kawaala Police Post received a case that an aggravated robbery case had been committed at a residence of John Mugarura at Kirinya-Bigo in Mutundwe, a Kampala suburb on June 8, 2012. Mugarura, the complainant, told police that robbers armed with a machete and two heavy stones had gained access to his compound, while he was away, and attacked his wife, Josephine Ayebare. Mugarura said the three robbers beat up Ayebare then t...


criminal law - murder

Man murders father-in-law for failing to return bride price  In July 2012, Margaret Anjawao introduced her fiancé, Ambrose Eledu, to her parents, Charles Asili, 51, and Stella Amuge in a pompous customary wedding. Eledu, a shopkeeper at Enagus Trading Centre in Kamunda Sub County, Soroti District, went with four cows, two goats and Shs 240,000 as bride price. Anjawao’s relatives were satisfied with the bride price and handed over their daughter to start marriage life. Barely a...


family law - guardianship

GUARDIANSHIP.Guardianship means obtaining the legal authority to make decisions for another person. A guardian is the person appointed by the court to make decisions on behalf of someone else.A guardianship may be needed over a child if there is no parent available to care for the child. This guardian will have responsibility over the child’s estate until the child reaches the age of majority / becomes an adult (18 years of age).A guardianship may be needed over an adult if the adult is ...


Busoga murder trail: Confessions to police

Leader of the Shiite Muslim sect in Uganda Sheikh Abdulkadiri Muwaya was bent on doing what the Quran tells every Muslim to do – spreading Islam. Many who knew Sheikh Muwaya say he devoted his energies on promoting Islam and thought every Muslim would support that mission. Unfortunately, some saw his unwavering efforts towards elevating Allah’s message as a threat. They saw him as a man who was spreading the Shiite brand of Islam at the expense of the majority Sunni faithful in B...



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