Workers Member of Parliament Byakatonda Abdulhu and KCCA Councillor for Makerere University, Muganga Micdad have been dragged to court for allegedly defrauding a family of close to Shs2 billion.
The family members that include Asuman Nkambwe(Husband) Nkambwe Neddie, Mbazira Mansul(Children) and Nambooze Jane(Wife) say that people who are employed by the Departed Asians’ Properties Custodian Board reached out to them in 2019, sold properties to them and took more than Shs1.7 billion; but eversince they parted with the money; there has not been any single plot or property of land that has gotten to the aggrieved family’s possession and it is coming to now two years.
The family argues that initially they had sued the Departed Asians’ Properties Custodian Board; but they habe now discovered evidence that the people who were claiming to be agents, employees or workers of the Departed Asians’ Properties Custodian Board; are actually fraudsters.
And these Byakatonda and Muganga.
It is against this background that the aggrieved Family through their Lawyers of M/S Katuntu and Company Advocates today have ran to the High Court Land Division; seeking to be allowed to make a formal application to have the alleged fraudsters be added as parties to the suit.
However the application has been deffered to 15th/March/2022 because the Judges and Registrars are away in a Workshop.
The family maintains that the evidence inform of documents implicating the two Politicians to having taken money from them as purported agents, employees and Works of the Departed Asians’ Properties Costodian Board; has already been availed to Court.
The family also wants the two Gentlemen to explain why money belonging to Ugandans ended up in their pockets and not in the coffers of the Departed Asians’ Properties Custodian Board.
The contested plots are Plot 34 on Rashid Khamis Road, Plot 23 Martin Road and Plot 37 Martin Road.
The case is before the Deputy Registrar Jennifer Natukunda; the aggreived Family is represented by Counsel Ramadhan Waiswa from M/S Katuntu& Co. Advocates while the Departed Asians’ Properties Custodian Board is represented by Counsel Geoffrey Komakech from Victoria Advocates & Legal Consultants.
BACKGROUND:
Around 2019 the Plaintiffs say they wished to buy some properties as a family using their personal (Family) resources and that in June/2019, the Plaintiffs were informed by their then Lawyer that the Departed Asians’ Properties Custodian Board had 3 plots that it wished to dispose of/sell.
They were informed that these properties were on Plot 34 LRV 146 Folio 10 on Rashid Khamis Road, Plot 23 LRV 117 Folio 8 on Martin Road and Plot 37 Martin Road LRV 116 Folio 17; and that they were developed with buildings and that although they had been expropriated during the 1970’s and vested in Government, their former owners had not legally repossessed them within the time limited by Law.
That on 31st/July/2019 upon advice of the Lawyer, the Family wrote to the Departed Asians’ Properties Custodian Board’s Divesture Committee and formally applied for allocation and subsequent purchase of the said Property.
The Family says the Board received the application on 21st/August/2019 and subsequently the DAPCBoard through its agents, employees, or workers demanded, received and acknowledged receipt of USD 490,000 dollars as consideration for purchase of the suit properties.
That these agents, employees or workers were the Departed Asians’ Properties Custodian Board’s Chairperson Mr. Byakatonda Abdulhu and Muganga Micdad who assured the Plaintiffs that they would get vacant possession of the suit plots as soon as they were allocated to them.
“Around January 2021, after months of waiting the Plaintiffs sought vacant possession from the occupants of the suit plots, however the occupants did not have knowledge of any transaction which prove that the defendants had sold and allocated the suit plots to them(Plaintiffs)” the Court document reads in part.
The Family contends that they demanded from the Defendant to make good of its Promise to give vacant possession of the suit plots in a series of meetings in 2021; but they still to date do not have possession or quiet enjoyment of any of the suit plots.
And as a result; the aggreived Family says it has not only lost money; but have suffered mental stress and anguish for which they want Court to order that the Defendant pays them damages to a tune of One Billion Five Hundred Million Shillings.
A refund of all the sums of money received from the Plaintiffs as consideration for the purchase of the suit plots amounting to US dollars 490,000 and Ug. Shs. 70.590.000 plus costs of the suit.
DEFENCE:
(Departed Asians’ Properties Custodian Board)
In their Defence the Departed Asians’ Properties Custodian Board denies each and every allegations by the aggreived Family and maintain that if they had carried out due diligence as they have now done, they would have found out that the suit Property was not available for sale.
Through Victoria Advocates & Legal Consultants; Departed Asians’ Properties Custodian Board argues that it did not at any time enter into any agreement with the plaintiffs and has no contractual obligations towards them.
The Board says that the Plaintiffs delt with an individual unknown to it(Board) and the other could not be acting on its behalf as the acts complained of are criminal in nature.
The Board denies having an employee, agent or worker by the names of Muganga Micdad who is said to have received a total of USD 270,000; and the Board also denies Byakatonda Abdulhu as it’s Chairperson but avers it’s Chairperson is the Minister of Finance and repeats that Muganga Micdad is neither it’s agent, employee or worker.
The Board contends that it has never received any applications for temporary allocation of the suit Properties and therefore didn’t allocate them.
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