KAMPALA: Kampala businessman Patrick Bitature has dismissed reports that his multibillion investments, among them Protea Hotel – Naguru SKyz, Elizabeth Royal Apartments and Moyo Close Apartments, are set for auction.
In a strongly worded statement issued through his lawyers of Muwema & Co. Advocates, Bitature, who runs Simba Properties Investment Co. Ltd, said the public auction advert issued by Quickway Auctioneers and Court Bailiffs appearing on Page 9 of the Monitor newspaper of May 18, 2022, should be disregarded.
“Our client’s properties are not liable to be advertised for sale by any mortgagee purported to be represented by Kirunda & Wasige Advocates and Quickway Auctioneers and Court Bailiffs,” Bitature’s lawyers said.
The advert issued by Quickway Auctioneers and Court Bailiffs was offering our client’s abovementioned properties for sale upon the instructions of M/s Kirunda & Wasige Advocates.
“We wish to inform the general public that the said Advert has been issued without any legal basis. It is a malicious advert whose sole purpose is to alarm and cause irreparable damage to our client’s business and reputation,” the lawyers said.
According to the lawyers, M/s Kirunda & Wasige Advocates used to act for Vantage Mezzanine Fund II Partnership, in a long-standing Commercial dispute with our client which was decided against them recently.
They said the dispute was settled on the 9th May 2022 by Hon. Justice Musa Ssekana of the High Court when he declared in Misc. Cause No. 205 of 2021 Vantage Mezzanine Fund II Partnership vs Simba Properties Investment Co. Ltd, that Vantage Mezzanine Fund II Partnership is a non-existent legal entity which had no locus standi to file the suit.
“So, from the 9th May 2022, M/s Kirunda & Wasige Advocates ceased to have a client to act for and for that matter, they cannot claim to be instructed to take legal action of any form by or for the non-existent Vantage Mezzanine Fund II Partnership,” they said.
They added that the action taken by Kirunda & Wasige Advocates and Quickway Auctioneers and Court Bailiffs tends to disabuse the binding judicial authority which nullifies any masquerade of legal existence by Vantage Mezzanine Fund II Partnership when they unlawfully purport to resurrect it with legal personality rights, whereas not.
“The above misguided and unprofessional conduct by the said lawyers and auctioneers undermines the authority of the courts of law to adjudicate disputes between the parties and is also in blatant disregard and contempt of court orders,” the lawyers add.
“Our client has therefore instructed us to exorcise the ghost of the non-existent Vantage Mezzanine Fund II Partnership by taking the appropriate compensatory legal action against its promoters, lawyers, Auctioneers and Monitor newspaper for the offensive publication,” the statement adds.
