Church loses bid to reopen dispute over sh4.5b Bunamwaya land
The judge said such a judgment upholds rights in property against the whole world and, to that extent, matters already determined could not be reopened in the church's suit.
Church loses bid to reopen dispute over sh4.5b Bunamwaya land
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The High Court has struck off a land suit filed by Abundant Life Faith Church of Uganda over about 10 acres of land in Bunamwaya, Kampala, after finding that ownership of the contested property had already been determined in an earlier judgment.
Justice Christine Kaahwa of the High Court Land Division ruled that although the church was not a party to the earlier case and was therefore not bound by it under the doctrine of res judicata, the earlier judgment concerning the same property was a judgment in rem.
The judge said such a judgment upholds rights in property against the whole world and, to that extent, matters already determined could not be reopened in the church's suit.
The ruling arose from an application by businessman John Baptist Walusimbi, who also sought an order requiring the church to furnish sh200m as security for costs in Civil Suit No. 990 of 2018.
Walusimbi told court that he was the registered proprietor of the mailo interest in Kyadondo Block 265 Plot 6439 and Plot 2846 at Bunamwaya, covering about 10 acres and valued at approximately sh4.5b.
He said the church occupied the land under an informal leasehold arrangement and had filed the suit challenging alleged sales and transfers of the property to Prince Nelson Kimera Ssemugalwa and Lijif International American University.
Walusimbi denied selling or transferring the land, saying the alleged transactions were fraudulent and that he had separately sued the parties involved in Civil Suit No. 1060 of 2019.
In a judgment delivered on May 30, 2025, Justice Olive Kazarwe found Walusimbi to be the rightful proprietor and ordered the cancellation and reversal of entries made in favour of the other parties.
Kaahwa noted that the same subject matter was at the centre of the church's 2018 suit.
The judge, however, dismissed Walusimbi's application for security for costs, noting that the court's discretion under Order 26 of the Civil Procedure Rules must be exercised judicially and that security should not be used to stifle a genuine claim.
The church, through its member Methylen Leslie, said it operated in Wakiso and Kampala and had applied for renewal of its NGO permit after its previous permit expired.
However, Kaahwa observed that merely having an address or operating in Uganda did not demonstrate the existence of attachable assets.
The church had not provided evidence such as land titles, audited financial statements or bank statements showing unencumbered assets in its corporate name.
On the merits of the dispute, the judge examined the earlier judgment and found that the same plots had already been litigated.
She noted that the earlier court had declared the contracts of sale and subsequent transfers void and ordered cancellation of the relevant entries.
Kaahwa therefore struck off Civil Suit No. 990 of 2018 with costs to Walusimbi, while dismissing the application for security for costs.