THE Court of Appeal has ordered a woman to surrender part of a residential house to her co-wife, saying they both owned it.
By Hillary Nsambu
THE Court of Appeal has ordered a woman to surrender part of a residential house to her co-wife, saying they both owned it.
The court also ordered Hellen Oyeru to account for the incomes she derived from one of the wings of the property in Kololo, a Kampala suburb, since October 1991 plus 20% interest.
“This is to be complied with within two months from the date of this judgment before the registrar of this court,†a panel of three justices ordered. The order was made last week.
The wing belongs to Oyeru’s co-wife Florence Namuli Matovu but Oyeru had denied her access to it since 1990 when their husband died.
The court also issued a permanent injunction restraining Oyeru or her agents from interfering with Namuli’s wing. She was also ordered to pay the costs of the suit. Namuli had challenged a High Court decision that favoured Oyeru. She had been deregistered from the property as co-owner.
In 1998, Oyeru sued Namuli seeking to cancel her (Namuli’s) name from the certificate of title and a declaration that the property belongs to her solely.
However, Namuli’s lawyer Moses Ssegawa, had argued that they were both registered proprietors of the property with equal shares, having purchased it under a mortgage in 1980.
Justices Alice Bahigeine, Amos Twinomujuni and Constance Kategaya ruled on the appeal.