Kampala, Uganda: Veteran city lawyer Fred Muwema has been evicted from his law firm offices in Kololo after defaulting on rent arrears, now estimated at about Shs1.4 billion.
Court bailiffs executed the eviction on Friday, March 6, 2026, throwing out furniture, files and other office property belonging to his company, M/S Muwema & Co. Advocates, before removing the firm’s signpost from the premises at Plot 50 on Windsor Crescent Road in Kololo, Kampala.
During the process, private security personnel were also seen removing signposts bearing the name of the law firm from the property, and later took control of the premises after the eviction was completed.
The enforcement followed a recent High Court ruling in a long-running dispute between the law firm and its landlord, Downtown Investments Ltd, which ordered the firm to vacate the property and settle outstanding rent arrears worth over $372,300 (about 1.4 Billion Shillings).
In the judgment delivered last month by Justice Patricia Mutesi of the Commercial Division of the High Court, the court found that the law firm had breached its lease agreement by failing to pay rent despite continued occupation of the premises.
The judge ruled that the continued occupation after termination of tenancy amounted to unlawful possession, clearing the way for eviction and recovery of arrears.
Background of the Lease Dispute
Court heard that in December 2014, Muwema & Co. Advocates entered into a five-year lease agreement with Downtown Investments Ltd for property located on Plot 50 Windsor Crescent Road in Kololo.
Under the agreement, the firm was required to pay USD 5,000 per month plus VAT, a figure that was later revised to USD 10,000 per month. Although the lease expired in December 2019, the firm continued occupying the premises while negotiations with the landlord were ongoing.
Evidence presented before court indicated that rent payments were fully settled up to December 2021, after which the firm defaulted on subsequent payments.
The landlord issued several demand notices seeking settlement of the outstanding rent before the firm made a partial payment of USD 50,000 in June 2023.
However, by that time, rent arrears had accumulated to USD 148,300, covering the period between December 2021 and mid-2023.
During the trial, Muwema argued that his law firm had stopped paying rent after making an offer in 2021 to purchase the Kololo property, claiming that negotiations had effectively changed the relationship between the parties from landlord-tenant to buyer-seller.
The court rejected this defence, ruling that the offer to purchase was never accepted by the landlord and therefore no binding sale agreement existed.
Justice Mutesi held that the proposed purchase did not extinguish the firm’s obligation to continue paying rent under the lease agreement.
The court consequently ordered payment of the arrears and vacant possession of the property, paving the way for Friday’s eviction.
Enforcement of the Court Order
On Friday morning, court bailiffs moved to enforce the judgment, overseeing the removal of office furniture, legal files and other property from the Kololo premises.
Witnesses said enforcement officers also removed the Muwema & Co. Advocates signpost from the building as the eviction exercise progressed.
By afternoon, the offices remained locked as enforcement officers completed the eviction process, effectively ending the firm’s long occupation of the prime Kololo property.
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