Sheikh Kasim Suleman v. Ayubu Kamgila, (PC) Civ. App. 71-M-67, 27/12/67, Mustafa J.

Sheikh Kasim Suleman v. Ayubu Kamgila, (PC) Civ. App. 71-M-67, 27/12/67, Mustafa J.

Plaintiff and defendant were members of a community of Muslims. A plot of land was held by the community, whose affairs are generally looked after by a committee which was controlled, at the time of this action, by a faction led by the defendant. The land was held under a grant to “all the Muslims” which apparently had been made for the erection of a mosque.

A mosque and a school had been built, but a group led by plaintiff wanted another school to be built. Plaintiff sued unsuccessfully in Primary Court for possession of a portion of the land; this judgment was reversed by the District Court. Defendant argued to the High Court; that only the committee could decide what to do with the land: that plaintiff had no personal right to deal with it, albeit for the benefit of the public; that neither the village authorities, TANU nor the Ministry of Education had authorized the building of a school on the land by plaintiff, and that the District Court should have held that “whatever was done in the interests of the community was to be done according to the constitution and procedure of the community organization.’

            Held: “This appears to be a dispute between two factions of a community as regards administration of its affairs. The land issue is but one aspect of such dispute. A dispute of this kind, by its very nature, could not possibly be dealt with in the primary court. This is not a matter over which a primary court has jurisdiction ….” [Citing section 14, Magistrate’s Courts Act.] The whole are, therefore, a nullity.