The Court of Appeal has stayed the execution of High Court orders that would have cancelled Speke Uganda Holidays Limited’s ownership of a property in Najjera and required it to hand over vacant possession to the former owners.
The stay was granted after Housing Finance Bank asked the appellate court to suspend the execution of the orders pending determination of its appeal against the High Court judgment.
Justice of Appeal Esta Nambayo ordered the bank to deposit Shs28 million in court as security for the due performance of the High Court orders within 30 days from the date of the ruling.
The dispute arose from a mortgage loan obtained by Barnabas Samuel Aliku and Christine Mutesi Aliku from Housing Finance Bank, secured by a mortgage over land in Najjera.
After the borrowers defaulted on the loan, the bank exercised its statutory power of sale and the property was eventually sold to Speke Uganda Holidays Limited for Shs135 million. The company subsequently became the registered proprietor.
In 2019, the Alikus sued Housing Finance Bank, Tony Lugayizi Mulinde and Speke Uganda Holidays, challenging the foreclosure and sale of their property.
In a judgment delivered on May 31, 2026, the High Court found, among other matters, that the sale was unlawful, negligent and tainted by fraud.
The court set aside the foreclosure and sale, ordered cancellation of Speke Uganda Holidays’ registration and directed that the Alikus be reinstated as registered proprietors.
Speke Uganda Holidays was also ordered to give the Alikus vacant possession of the property within 60 days of the judgment.
The High Court further awarded the Alikus Shs28 million in special damages , alongside general and punitive damages, interest and costs. It also dismissed the bank’s counterclaim for Shs15,578,579.93 .
Housing Finance Bank subsequently appealed the decision and sought a stay of execution, arguing that its appeal raised substantial questions of law and fact and that execution of the judgment was imminent.
The bank further argued that allowing execution before the appeal was determined would cause it substantial loss and render the appeal nugatory.
It also told court that the application had been filed without unreasonable delay and that it was willing to provide security for the due performance of the decree.
The bank told court that Speke Uganda Holidays, which stood to lose the property, was facing eviction and had demanded about Shs1.3 billion from the bank. Meanwhile, the Alikus had commenced taxation of their bill of costs.
Justice Nambayo said she had considered the bank’s memorandum of appeal, which contained six grounds challenging the High Court’s findings and orders.
Among other issues, the bank disputes the finding that the property was sold on the basis of a stale valuation and at an undervalue. It also challenges the finding that mandatory statutory procedures governing the exercise of a mortgagee’s power of sale were not followed.
The judge said executing the High Court orders before the appeal was heard could create difficulties if the appellate court eventually overturned the judgment.
In particular, she said it could become difficult to restore the property to its current legal and physical position if the Alikus were reinstated on the title and given possession before the appeal was determined.
The judge also warned that the property could be transferred or subjected to other third-party interests, creating further legal and practical complications.
“It is my view that the validity of the foreclosure sale and the proprietary interests arising from it ought to be preserved until the appeal is heard and determined,” Justice Nambayo said.
She added that the inconvenience likely to be suffered by the Alikus from a stay was less than the legal and practical difficulties that could arise if ownership and possession of the property were changed before the appeal was determined.
“A stay of execution will enable this Court to render an effective judgment whichever way the appeal is determined. Therefore, I find that the balance of convenience favours the grant of a stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal,” she ruled.
The court consequently stayed execution of the High Court orders cancelling Speke Uganda Holidays’ registration as proprietor of the Najjera land, reinstating the Alikus as registered proprietors and requiring the company to give them vacant possession.
The stay will remain in force pending determination of the Court of Appeal civil appeal.
