The Principle Judge Dr. Flavian Zeija has been asked to intervene in the sharp fight between city lawyer Fred Muwema and Justice Stephen Mubiru the head of the Commercial Division of the High Court over tycoon Abdul Hirji Hamid Mohamed Karim and DFCU multibillion deal.
In a letter seen by our Investigative team of the mighty TV10GanoMazima dated 1st February, 2024, addressed to Dr. Zeija, lawyer Muwema says that he is aggrieved by the injustice that Justice Mubiru is subjecting his clients to.
He claims that Justice Mubiru’s actions have resulted into his client almost losing his multimillion properties which include; LRV 330, Folio 11, Plot 56 Seventh Street, Industrial Area, LRV 301 Folio 21, Plot 58 Seventh Street, Industrial Area and LRV 4009 Folio 11 Plot 88 South Street Kampala city.
He explains that the loss originated from a dispute involving a purported loan his client Salim Pyarali Hirani and Shamina Hirani, the proprietors of the MP Electronics Limited and Master Electronics received from city tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia’s defunct Crane Bank Limited which DFCU wanted to enforce as a successor in title.
He states that the disputed bank loan amounts to USD3.8m plus Shs3bn and is a subject of a impugned credit facility agreement issued in 2014. Muwema insists that his clients never received the said amount of money on their bank accounts.
Muwema told Justice Zeija that his clients pleaded with Justice Mubiru to allow the inspecting of their bank accounts on which DFCU claims the money was deposited, their bank’s books of accounts to establish the disbursements, withdraw and utilization of the alleged loaned money but he declined their plea.
He added that Justice Mubiru selectively relied on technicalities to bar his clients from being heard on the substances of the said dispute which has in the process facilitated DFCU bank to unlawfully sell and transfer their client’s properties to city businessman Abdul Hirji Hamid Mohamed Karim.
“In this case, the trial judge has evidently been bent to serve justice only to the bank and deny our client any pretensions of fair hearing. We therefore request for your urgent intervention as head of the High Court to call for and examine the said file so that the ends of justice can be served by enabling a proper inter party hearing before another judge,” Muwema’s letter reads.
According to court documents, Muwema’s clients claim that Karim connived with the Commissioner Land Registration, Ashishi Shantal Kamani and Triputi Ashishi Kamini to fraudulently transfer their land.
This is not the first time that lawyer Muwema is facing with Justice Mubiru, in the multibillion case between city tycoon Patrick Bitature who was Muwema’s client against South African based lending company Vantage Mezzanine Fund 11 Partnership, Justice Mubiru dismissed Bitature’s case and directed Muwema as a lawyer to pay costs of the case for misleading his client to file what he called a bogus application.
Justice Mubiru was also at war with Justice Zeija and in November 2024, Justice Zeija directed Justice Mubiru to clean the backlog on his desk and ordered him to stop hearing further cases until he had delivered judgments in the many cases before him.
The fight resulted in Justice Mubiru’s ruling where he declared that the Principal Judge does not have powers to force a fellow judicial officer to overturn a decision he/she made in a matter because he is not an appellate court.
Mubiru first declared that Justice Stephen Musota’s Inspectorate of Court doesn’t have powers to direct a judicial officer on how to handle a case file before him or her..
