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Court allows Asian family to sue custodian board
Mr George William Bizibu, the executive secretary of the Departed Asians Property Custodian Board, appears before Parliament on July 16, 2019. PHOTO / ALEX ESAGALA
Court has allowed an Asian family to sue the Departed Asians Property Custodian Board (DAPCB) over accusations of illegal acquisition of property.
Justice Musa Ssekaana of the High Court Civil Division said one of the owners of the disputed property, Mr Sadrudin Valimohamed, availed good reason for the delay in filing an application for judicial review.
“This court directs the applicant to file his application for judicial review within 14 days from the date of this ruling,” Justice Ssekaana ruled on Friday.
It is alleged that on January 8, 2019, DAPCB allocated land on Plot 5, Mackenzie Vale in Kololo, Kampala, to businessman Geoffrey Baguma without the knowledge of Mr Valimohamed who was only informed in December 2019.
On September 5, 2019, the lawyers and managing agents of the property, Kalenge, Bwanika, Ssawa & Co Advocates, were served with a letter from DAPCB showing the property had been under investigation by Parliament’s Committee of Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase).
The judge observed that lack of knowledge of decision is a strong factor influencing the court’s decision on whether to grant an extension of time for bringing the application for judicial review.
“It is a rule devised on the principle of judicial circumspection and has to be applied wisely. The court should not fix any hard and fast rules for extension of time to file an application for judicial review upon expiry of 90 days but rather the measure of delay should depend upon the nature of action involved and on facts and circumstances of each case,” the court held.
Court heard that Mr Valimohamed was not aware that a decision had been made by the DAPCB to make a temporary allocation of the disputed property to Baguma, until towards the end of December 2019.
According to the court record, Mr Valimohamed’s father, the late Tajdin Alidina Valimohamed, was the registered proprietor of land having acquired it and had it registered in his names on 18th February 1969.
