Ex-minister as well as a legislator ‘Yona Kanyomozi’ has dragged former prime minister ‘John Patrick Amama Mbabazi’ to court because they failed payment of rupees shs26million ($7507) in rent for his office along with Nakasero road in Kampala.
According to court documents, Kanyomozi 2015 entered into an unwritten occupancy agreement with Mbabazi to rent his(Kanyomozi) office space on Plot 29 along Nakasero road. The monthly rent was $5000, and before the occupation, Mbabazi paid six months in advance ending December 2015.
“From August 1, 2015, the defendant (Mbabazi) took control and occupied the plaintiff’s property, and continued to use the same as the head office for Go Forward during the 2015/16 presidential campaigns,” court documents stated.
Furthermore, Kanyomozi stated that after the expiry of their document, which was made for six months only, he had paid; moreover, Mbabazi continued occupying the office space for another four months between January and April 2016 without conceding the tenancy agreement terms.
He states that he paid the first deposit. After that, Mbabazi started becoming uncooperative, avoiding him, and started paying rent in an insignificant manner after even demanding from him and giving him reminders from the landlord for full payment.
As per the court documents, which stated that the former Prime Minister had, by October 2021, paid only $39992 (Which is a total of shs43.7million), leaving an outstanding balance of $7507 (about shs26 million).
“To date, the defendant remains in default of rent worth $7507, and all efforts by the complainant to have the issue solved have proved futile as the defendant has purposefully denied him an audience,” court documents say.
According to former minister Kanyomozi, there received no written agreement because after taking control of the office space, Mbabazi became uncooperative and frustrated all efforts of signing the contract.
Court Orders:
Yona Kanyomozi now wants the Commercial Division of the High Court in Kampala to declare that Mbabazi breached the contract he entered for rent of office space along Nakasero road and be ordered to pay $7507(approximately shs26 million) in rent arrears.
The former minister also wants the court to order Mbabazi $20,000 as general damages plus interest from the date of defaulting on payment until when he pays.
Consequently, the court has given Mbabazi 15 days to file his defense in the matter, or else the court will proceed with the suit and give judgment in his absence.
