Senior city lawyer Fred Muwema was on Friday evicted from the offices of Muwema & Co. Advocates in Kololo after failing to clear outstanding rent that has accumulated over several years.
Court bailiffs carried out the eviction on the morning of March 6, removing furniture, documents and other office equipment from the building located on Windsor Crescent Road. The firm’s signpost was also taken down as part of the enforcement process.
The eviction followed a court order in a dispute between the law firm and its landlord, Downtown Investments Ltd.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Patricia Mutesi of the High Court of Uganda Commercial Division, the court found that the law firm had violated its lease agreement by continuing to occupy the property without paying rent.
Court records showed that in December 2014, the law firm signed a five-year lease for the property on Plot 50 Windsor Crescent Road at a monthly rent of $5,000 plus VAT, which was later increased to $10,000.
Although the lease expired in December 2019, the firm remained in the building. Evidence presented in court indicated that rent was paid up to December 2021, after which the firm stopped making payments.
The landlord issued several demand notices before the law firm made a partial payment of $50,000 in June 2023. However, this still left outstanding arrears of $148,300 for the period between December 2021 and mid-2023.
The court dismissed the firm’s argument that it stopped paying rent after proposing to buy the property in 2021. Justice Mutesi ruled that the landlord had never accepted the offer and therefore no sale agreement existed.
The judge ordered the firm to clear the outstanding rent and vacate the premises, leading to the eviction carried out on Friday.
