KAMPALA – President Museveni has met city businessman Mukesh Shukla in a bid defuse his protracted property wrangle with the family of late Bonny Katatumba that has lasted about 12 years.
The President met Mukesh at State House Entebbe last Wednesday and promised to ensure that the court case over ownership of three properties between the two parties is resolved amicably.
Senior Presidential press secretary Don Wanyama confirmed the meeting but declined to give details.
According to sources in the meeting, the President promised to meet Angela Katatumba, the heiress to the Katatumba family estate, so as to resolve the standoff. He also promised to study the details of the court case and then see that the two go for mediation.
Businessman Mukesh told this website in an interview after the meeting that he asked the President to intervene over what he called malicious prosecution and eviction from Hotel Diplomate, one of the contested properties.
When contacted, Angela Katatumba said he is ready to meet the President, adding that she too wants justice. However, she insisted that she will not be compromised.
The Katatumba family have been embroiled in a protracted legal fight for the multibillion properties which include a building in a prime city area on Plot 2 Colville Street in Kampala since 2008.
Other property include Hotel Diplomate in Muyenga suburb and Katatumba Banda Island which had been transferred to Shumuk’s business empire.
In the appeal, Mr Mukesh is challenging a 2014 Commercial Court judgment that threw him out of the multimillion properties under dispute.
The Commercial Court declared that the properties, which include the prime building on Plot 2 Colville Street in Kampala, belong to Katatumba (now deceased).
The court also held that Mr Mukesh never bought the properties because he lacked proper sale agreements and transfer documents. The case, which has lasted about ten years, has witnessed a number of dramatic evictions. In November 2017, Mr Mukesh lost a bid to evict Katatumba’s family from Hotel Diplomate in Muyenga after the Chief Magistrate’s Court at Makindye dismissed his application. In November last year, Mr Mukesh was arrested on allegations of forgery and presenting false documents.
