Court summons city tycoon Basajjabalaba, four lawyers over unpaid hotel bills

City businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba. File photo

What you need to know:

  • The hotel management states that because of the actions of Mr Basajjabalaba and the lawyers, they have incurred losses and costs like instituting a legal suit against them, which they now hold them liable since they enriched themselves with their hotel services.
  • Court has given Mr Basajjabalaba and his co-accused 15 days within which to file their defence or else judgment will be passed in his absentia.

KAMPALA. The Commercial Division of the High Court has summoned city tycoon Hassan Basajjabalaba and four prominent city lawyers to defend themselves over allegations of unpaid hotel bills amounting to Shs142 million.
Mr Basajjabalaba has been sued by Hotel International 2000 Ltd, owned by businessman, Godfrey Kirumira and his wife.
The lawyers are Mr Caleb Alaka, Mr Kenneth Kakande, Mr John Mugisha and Mr Joseph Kyazze. The five are jointly sued with Kampala International University (KIU) that is owned by Mr Basajjabalaba.

"Whereas the above names plaintiff has instituted a suit against you upon the claim the particulars of which are set out in the copy of the plaint, you are hereby required to file in this honourable court a defence in the said suit within 15 days from the date of service of these summons to you in a manner prescribed in civil procedure," reads in part the court summons to Basajjabalaba.

According to court documents that this newspaper has seen, Hotel International 2000 Ltd states that between May 2014 and November 2015, Mr Basajjabalaba approached his fellow businessman Mr Kirumira, the director of Hotel International located in Muyenga for hotel services for the four advocates.
Court documents indicate that Mr Basajjabalaba wanted a quiet environment for his lawyers to concentrate on some unnamed legal assignment that they were doing for his Kampala International University.

The hotel services extended to the lawyers included accommodation and other related services.
After the lawyers were done with Basajjabalaba ' s legal work, he reportedly made payment in three installments, leaving an outstanding balance.
"In a breach of the said agreement, the defendants (Mr Basajjabalaba and the lawyers) have to day, defaulted on full payment of monies due to the plaintiff (Hotel International) for the hotel services extended despite receipt of formal demands and the outstanding liability is to the tune of Shs142m," read court documents in part.

Court documents further show that when the hotel management sought to recover the outstanding balance from the businessman, he said the lawyers were liable to clearing the debt on grounds that he had paid them and that it was their task to pay their hotel bills.
Equally, when the hotel management sought to recover their monies from the lawyers, they insisted that it should be Mr Basajjabalaba to clear the debt since they were working for him.

The hotel management states that because of the actions of Mr Basajjabalaba and the lawyers, they have incurred losses and costs like instituting a legal suit against them, which they now hold them liable since they enriched themselves with their hotel services.
By press time last evening, the businessman and the four lawyers had not yet filed in their respective defenses before a hearing date could be fixed.
However, court has to that effect, given Mr Basajjabalaba and his co-accused 15 days within which to file their defence or else judgment will be passed in his absentia.