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By Mulengera Reporters
Barely in his 30s, Arnold Kisembo has dragged Barclays (now ABSA) bank to court claiming that the bank, working with some city lawyers, knowingly grabbed his 1 acre of land in Bweyogerere without any claim of right to the same. The young man contends that the land in question is particularized as Plot 1424 Block 227 situate at Bweyogerere at the exact point where Progressive SS, in which he was a director, used to operate from.
Through his lawyers of BALON Advocates, Kisembo (who got the land from his father Elisha Kaahwa who had founded the very prestigeous school) asserts that on developing loan-related disagreements with the borrower, the bank moved to attach and auction the entire 13 acres of land on which the school operated. Ironically, the 13 acres had a portion which was his and had been registered or titled in his names.
The loan/mortgage dispute, which resulted into the bank auctioning the school and selling it to Luyanzi Academic Foundation (belonging to Ayub Sooma an influential Director at CAA Entebbe), related to Plots 43, 72 and 89 and never related to Kisembo’s Plot 1424 yet the sale agreement the bank executed with the Soomas resulted into everything being auctioned and taken away as one piece of land belonging to the defunct academic institution. In the late 2009, the entire school was evicted and Kisembo contends that is how he was arbitrarily deprived of his one acre.
He further asserts that his personal land/registered in his names with a title nobody had ever disputed was sold off to the Soomas (they have since converted the thing into an institute to teach the Chinese language while imparting some vocational skills) unlawfully because the deprivation wasn’t preceded by issuance of the statutory notice which is mandatory before disposing of property in such circumstances.
That no demand note was ever issue in respect of his own land (Plot 1424 Block 227) yet this equally is a mandatory requirement of the law. The young man further asserts that the resultant auction (in respect of Plot 1424) was never preceded with public advertisement which equally is mandatory. The advertisement and all the other procedures the bank’s lawyers of MMAKS Advocates (in this case represented by Ernest Sembatya) complied with related to Block 266 Plots 43, 72 & 89 – and never Plot 1424 Block 227 which is his land which he has unlawfully been deprived of since 2009.
Perhaps inspired by growing litigation and public anger against banks, Kisembo is demanding for Shs4bn for the unlawful sale and transfer of his property by the bank to Eng Sooma’s Luyanzi Academic Foundation Ltd. He demands cancellation of the purpoted sale so that the ownership of his land reverts to him so that the title is once again registered in his name.
Kisembo is also demanding for Shs5bn to atone the revenue losses he has endured for the last 11 years since he was unlawfully deprived of his land. The same Shs5bn being claimed comprises of damages yet he is also claiming another Shs300m from ABSA bank as legal fees for the lawyers. The bank has only 7/seven days to act as demanded or else court proceedings are comnenced to its own detriment and shame. A thorough perusal of both the mortgage deed and sale agreement (both of 2009) indicates that the bank’s lawyers will struggle to fight off Kisembo’s claim.
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