Overview:
The Commercial Court in Uganda has ordered city lawyer Fred Muwema and his firm to pay 1.38 billion shillings over unpaid rent and the wrongful occupation of a prime Kololo property.
KAMPALA, Uganda — A commercial court has ordered a prominent law firm and its partners to pay 1.38 billion shillings (about $372,000) for unpaid rent and the wrongful occupation of a high-end office in the Kololo neighborhood.
Justice Patricia Mutesi issued the ruling Feb. 20 against the firm Muwema & Company Advocates and partners Fred Muwema and Friday Kagoro. The judge found the firm had defaulted on its lease for a property on Windsor Crescent Road owned by Down Town Investments Ltd.
The law firm is in wrongful possession of the leased premises following its failure to pay rent, Mutesi said in the judgment.
The dispute dates back to a five-year lease signed in 2014. Court records show the firm stopped meeting its rental obligations in 2023 but remained in the building. The court has now authorized the real estate company to evict the firm.
The total judgment includes:
- $148,300 in rent arrears accumulated through May 2023.
- $224,000 in mesne profits for occupying the space from mid-2023 through January 2026.
- 50 million shillings in general damages for breach of contract.
The court also applied a 6% annual interest rate to the arrears and a 13% rate to the damages.
The defense argued that a rent increase clause in the original agreement had never been officially triggered. However, the judge noted that the firm had been retaining profits while failing to pay for the prime real estate.
Mutesi also rejected a defense claim that a pending sale of the property changed the firm’s status, ruling that the obligation to pay rent continues until any sale is finalized.
Monthly rent for the property began at $5,500 in 2014 and had risen to $10,000 by the time the default was calculated in 2023.