Court bailiffs have evicted city lawyer Fred Muwema and his law firm, Muwema & Co. Advocates, from their Kololo offices after a High Court ruling found the firm had accumulated substantial rent arrears and continued occupying the property without payment.
The offices are located on Plot 50 Windsor Crescent Road in Kololo.
The eviction followed a judgment delivered in February by Patricia Mutesi of the High Court Commercial Division, which ruled that the firm had remained in possession of the property despite accumulating significant rent arrears.
In the ruling, the court ordered the firm to vacate the premises and settle financial claims totalling more than Shs1.4 billion, including rent arrears, profits and general damages.
Video clips circulating on social media showed court bailiffs removing office furniture, documents and other items from the building as the eviction was carried out.
The dispute stems from a five-year lease agreement signed in December 2014 between Muwema & Co. Advocates and Downtown Investments Ltd.
Under the agreement, the law firm initially agreed to pay $5,000 per month plus VAT, a figure that was later revised to $10,000 monthly.
Although the lease expired in December 2019, the law firm continued occupying the property.
Evidence presented in court showed that rent obligations were fully met up to December 2021, after which the firm stopped making payments.
The landlord subsequently issued several demand notices seeking settlement of the outstanding rent.
In June 2023, the law firm made a partial payment of $50,000, but by then the accumulated rent covering December 2021 to mid-2023 had risen to $148,300.
During the proceedings, the firm argued that rent payments had been halted after it expressed interest in purchasing the property in 2021.
However, the court ruled that the proposed purchase never materialised into a binding agreement and therefore did not relieve the tenant of its rent obligations.
Justice Mutesi concluded that the continued occupation of the property without paying rent amounted to trespass.
The court consequently awarded $148,300 (about Shs533.3 million) in rent arrears, $224,000 (about Shs805.5 million) in profits for the period the firm remained in possession without payment, and Shs50 million in general damages.
Together, these sums pushed the total liability to more than Shs1.4 billion.
Following the judgment last month, Muwema & Co. Advocates indicated that it would challenge the decision, arguing that the ruling contained legal and factual inconsistencies.
The firm said it intended to appeal the ruling to a higher court.
Despite those plans, enforcement of the judgment proceeded, paving the way for Friday’s eviction.
Muwema & Co. Advocates has handled a number of notable cases in constitutional and commercial litigation.
Among them is the ESO Corner versus Attorney General matter challenging the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority over the blacklisting of service providers.
The firm has also represented Humphrey Nzeyi in a dispute against Bank of Uganda regarding the closure of the National Bank of Commerce, and handled a judicial review filed by Mathew Kiwunda seeking regulation of mobile money services and contesting related taxes.
Friday’s eviction marks a major development in the dispute, bringing the firm’s occupation of the Kololo property to an abrupt end even as the legal battle continues.