Kampala, Uganda: The High Court Commercial Division has ruled in favour of Meera Investments Limited in a long-running commercial dispute against architectural firm FBW and its directors over the delayed expansion of Kabira Country Club, handing businessman Sudhir Ruparelia’s company a major legal victory.
In a detailed 43-page judgment delivered by Justice Susan Odongo on April 3, 2026, the court found that FBW fundamentally breached its contractual obligations and professional duties after failing to provide usable construction drawings and editable Computer-Aided Design (CAD) files for the ambitious Kabira Country Club extension project.
The court consequently ordered FBW and its architects to refund USD132,750 received from Meera Investments, pay USD108,500 in special damages, USD500,000 in general damages, and meet the costs of the suit together with interest on the awarded sums.
The dispute dates back to a 2012 consultancy agreement under which FBW was contracted to provide a full construction drawings package for the expansion of Kabira Country Club, one of Kampala’s leading hospitality facilities owned by the Ruparelia Group.
According to court records, the project was temporarily suspended in 2013 before being revived in 2018 with revised timelines intended to facilitate construction works by January 2019.
However, Meera Investments accused the architects of withholding essential editable CAD files despite receiving substantial payments, effectively paralysing the project and forcing the company to hire alternative consultants to redraw the entire project from scratch.
Justice Odongo agreed with Meera Investments’ position, ruling that the defendants’ conduct amounted to “technical obstruction” that frustrated implementation of the project.
“The Defendants’ attempt to satisfy their duty by providing static, unadjustable PDF files for a project of such immense complexity all while demanding payments meant for the construction phase was not an act of professional service, but one of technical obstruction,” the judge ruled.
The court further rejected FBW’s defence that editable CAD files were not part of the contractual deliverables, holding that previous dealings between the parties had established an implied expectation that such files would be provided as part of a complete construction package.
In one of the strongest findings in the ruling, the court stated that the architects had effectively held the project “at ransom” by demanding premature payments before releasing critical technical information needed to commence construction.
Justice Odongo also pierced through the corporate defence mounted by the architects, ruling that registered professionals cannot hide behind company structures to escape professional responsibility where clients relied on their personal expertise and licensed seals.
“The corporate structure cannot be used as a shield to defeat professional liability,” the court held.
The judgment now clears a major legal cloud that had hung over the multi-million-dollar redevelopment of Kabira Country Club, a flagship hospitality property under the Ruparelia Group. The project has since advanced significantly and is expected to transform the Bukoto-based facility into one of Kampala’s most modern hospitality and serviced apartment complexes.
The case also adds to a growing list of major court victories for Sudhir Ruparelia and Meera Investments in recent years across Uganda’s commercial and banking litigation landscape.
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