KAMPALA, Uganda — A prominent Ugandan law firm and its partners have been ordered to pay 1.38 billion shillings ($372,000) in a real estate dispute involving a luxury property in the capital’s exclusive Kololo neighborhood.
The ruling, delivered Feb. 20 by Justice Patricia Mutesi of the Commercial Court, found that Fred Muwema, Friday Kagoro, and their firm, Muwema & Company Advocates, had remained in “wrongful possession” of the premises after failing to meet rental obligations.
The dispute centers on a commercial property at Plot 50 Windsor Crescent Road. According to court records, the firm entered into a five-year renewable lease with Down Town Investments Ltd. in 2014. While the firm argued that a rent escalation clause in the original agreement was never formally invoked, the court found they remained liable for a debt that ballooned as the firm stopped making payments in 2023.
The judgment grants Down Town Investments the right to evict the firm and reclaim the property immediately.
Justice Mutesi’s financial award includes $148,300 in back rent as of May 2023 and $224,000 in mesne profits—a legal term for profits lost by a landlord during a period of wrongful occupation—covering the time from the initial default through January 2026. The court also tacked on 50 million shillings in general damages for breach of contract.
By failing to pay rent to the plaintiff throughout the period, the law firm has been retaining a substantial portion of its profits on a monthly basis, Mutesi wrote in her decision.
The court further applied a 6 percent annual interest rate on the rent arrears and a 13 percent rate on the damages.
The defense had attempted to argue that the obligation to pay rent was complicated by an unfinalized sale and purchase agreement for the property. However, the judge dismissed that reasoning, noting that until a sale is legally completed, the firm’s status as a tenant—and its subsequent duty to pay the agreed-upon rate—remains unchanged.
At the time of the last computation in mid-2023, the monthly rent for the prime Kololo site had risen from an initial $5,500 to $10,000.
