Bi Verdiana Kyabuje & Others v. Gregory Kyabuje, (PC) Civ. App. 29-D-68, 12/10/68, Hamlyn J.

Bi Verdiana Kyabuje & Others v. Gregory Kyabuje, (PC) Civ. App. 29-D-68, 12/10/68, Hamlyn J.

The will of deceased having been held void, the Primary Court divided the estate, according to Haya Law, amongst the surviving heirs. The appellants, female relatives of the deceased, claimed they were entitled to ownership of a share of the clan land in the possession of the deceased at his death.

            Held: (1) Although the court sympathized with the appellant’s argument that a distinction between males and equal standing with men, the court had no power to over rule customary law or reject it as inappropriate to modern conditions. Customary law could only be changed by the community itself adopting new customs. (2) The Law applicable was summarized in Government Notice No. 436 of 1963. Paragraph 20 of that notice provided that woman could only receive a usufruct of clan land, unless there were no males of the clan alive. (3) It was not in dispute that the appellant’s brother was alive, and therefore they were only entitled to usufruct of the clan land.