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Court orders arrest of Kampala lawyer
The Chief Magistrate’s Court in Jinja District has ordered the arrest of a Kampala lawyer following a petition by a local businessman to recover Shs11m in legal costs. COURTESY PHOTO
What you need to know:
Legal suit. This comes after a businessman obtained an arrest warrant after efforts to seek legal costs from the lawyer proved futile.
The Chief Magistrate’s Court in Jinja District has ordered the arrest of a Kampala lawyer following a petition by a local businessman to recover Shs11m in legal costs.
Ms Amin Negesa is required to pay the money to businessman Peter Kalibbala, who won a court dispute against her.
“You are hereby commanded to arrest the said judgment debtor unless they pay to you the said sum of Shs11m… for the cost of executing this process to bring the said judgment debtor before the court with all convenient speed,” the order reads in part.
Mr Kalibbala sued Ms Negesa in March after his associate, Mr John Kirkwood, was evicted from a house on Wilson Avenue, an upscale suburb of Jinja Town.
Ms Negesa, in possession of a freehold land title from the Lands Registry, on December 21, 2017, obtained an order from the Chief Magistrate’s Court to charge rent of Shs20m and evict Mr Kirkwood, who was kicked out on March 20 this year.
However, during the trial in the same court, Mr Kalibbala presented a land title with a running lease of 93 years and evidence that he had bought the land from Ms Theresa Lubandi, the wife of former mayor of Jinja Town JB Lubandi, in 2001 and had the property transferred into his name in 2006.
Mr Kalibbala is a director in Tofta Education Trust and Lord’s Meade Vocational College.
The existence of an older title meant the new one had to be revoked, but court also heard that the new title had been obtained irregularly.
Whereas neighbours of the land for which a title is sought are supposed to append their signatures to “Form 4” which is submitted to the local land committee for approval, none of the neighbours signed on her application.
Illegalities
Court also found that her application for the title had not been approved by the local land committee of Mpumudde in Kimaka Division where the land in question is located but instead the approvals were made by members of the local land committee of Jinja Central Division.
The neighbours of the land had also not signed on the application form for the new title as required by law.
On April 4, the magistrate’s court ruled in favour of Mr Kalibbala and the decision was upheld by the High Court on appeal.
Court awarded costs of the suit to Mr Kalibbala but efforts to have Ms Negesa pay were futile.
Mr Kalibbala returned to court and on December 16 secured a warrant of arrest against Ms Negesa to recover the costs.
