The High Court in Pader has overturned a decision by a Grade One Magistrate’s Court in a long-running dispute over 12 acres of customary land in Adis Ababa Village, Dure Parish, Parogali Sub-county, Pader District. The court faulted the handling of the case by Grade One Magistrate Stanislaus Okello Ongwee, saying the lower court failed to properly evaluate evidence before ruling in favour of George Kilama, one of the claimants to the disputed land.
Kilama and Sam Opoka have both claimed ownership of the land, each arguing that it was inherited from their ancestors. In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Civil Appeal No. 53 of 2025, Justice George Okello said the evidence presented before the lower court did not support some of the conclusions reached in the judgment.
The judge found that key issues were either overlooked or not properly examined before the decision was made. Justice Okello also pointed out inconsistencies in the case records, noting that although the judgment under appeal referred to Civil Suit No. 006 of 2022, the matter that was actually heard and determined was Civil Suit No. 24 of 2013.The court noted that the 2013 case had earlier been dismissed after the plaintiff failed to appear, but instead of applying for reinstatement, a fresh suit was filed in 2022. That suit was later withdrawn after questions were raised about its legality. According to Justice Okello, retaining the withdrawn case number in the judgment created confusion and gave the impression that the court had determined a matter that no longer existed.
He added that lawyers representing both parties carried the same error into their submissions before the High Court. The High Court also questioned the evidence supporting Kilama’s claim of ownership. Court records show that Kilama told the lower court that the land belonged to his late father, Peter Akut, who died in 2012, and that Akut had inherited it from his father, Opio Fernando. Kilama argued that he later became the rightful owner of the land. However, Justice Okello found inconsistencies in the description of the land size. He noted that while Kilama claimed the land measured 12 acres in the 2013 case, he described it as about eight acres in the withdrawn 2022 suit.
The judge said the difference in acreage was never explained. Justice Okello also criticised the manner in which evidence was recorded during the trial, saying that while witness testimony in chief was properly captured, cross-examination and re-examination were recorded in a way that did not comply with the Civil Procedure Rules. The High Court allowed Opoka’s appeal, set aside the lower court judgment, and dismissed Kilama’s suit. However, the court declined to declare Opoka the owner of the land because he had not filed a counterclaim seeking ownership. Instead, Justice Okello ordered that after excluding four acres occupied by Robert Ayella, the remaining portion of the land should be shared equally between Kilama and Opoka.
Opoka was awarded costs of the appeal but was denied costs from the lower court proceedings. The Chief Magistrate of Pader was directed to supervise the demarcation of the land with the involvement of local leaders, police, cultural leaders, and the parties involved-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
