Senana places caveat on disputed properties
Illegal sale. One of the disputed properties on Buganda Road. Senana Investment says Standard Chartered wants to illegally sell off the properties. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Shs34b loan dispute. Standard Chartered Bank is seeking to recover Shs34b from three properties including a building on Buganda Road, another in Mengo and a warehouse structure in Busega.
Senana Investment has placed a caveat on three contested properties, warning intending buyers or dealers of loss.
The properties, including a building on Buganda Road, another in Mengo and a warehouse structure in Busega are contested between Senana and Standard Chartered Bank over a Shs34b loan.
The caveat follows two notices by Standard Chartered Bank – one published in Daily Monitor on July 8 and another in New Vision on September 23 – warnings it would sell off the properties if the Senana Investments failed to clear the loan in its entirety.
The notices had been issued through Sebalu Lule & Company Advocates.
Senana Investments was between 2015 and 2017 advanced a Shs34b consolidated loan. However, the loan is now under dispute.
“… the mortgage between our client and Standard Chartered Bank is a subject of a pending legal dispute. The successful outcome of which will render the mortgage void for fraud, deceit and misrepresentation on the part of Standard Chartered Bank … any person who offers to purchase …. does so at his or her own risk as to any consequential loss. Stand duly notified,” the notice issued through Paul Sebunya &Co. Advocates, reads in part.
Reactions
Ms Frida Nabirongo, one of the directors in Senena Investment, yesterday declined to comment on the matter referring Daily Monitor to her lawyers.
Mr Paul Sebuunya, the Senana lawyer only offered a brief comment, saying: “The properties are a subject of a dispute that is currently pending in the courts law.”
On July 12, Senena Investment sought court intervention after Standard Chartered Bank had attempted to put up its properties on sale.
The High Court issued a temporary injunction blocking the sale. However, the injunction, which had been issued by Festo Nsenga, the Commercial Division registrar had until July 31 to expire.
Court had advised Ms Nabirongo to file for a Certificate of Ugency, which would allow an expeditious hearing of the case.
However, Daily Monitor could not readily establish the status of the case.
Senana had first filed a case against Standard Chartered Bank on October 16, 2016 through Kavuma Kabenge and Company Advocates, seeking to restrain the bank’s agents from selling its properties.
The company by then had challenged the manner under which Standard Chartered Bank had moved to attach properties, claiming that whereas it had paid the loan between 2015 and 2017, the bank had continued to send notice statements that contained false and manipulated amounts.
Senana had thus sought a review of the mortgage, arguing that Standard Chartered had acquired the properties unlawfully and should thus be declared illegal.
However, in its defense filed in November 2018, Standard Chartered insisted that Senana had failed to pay the loan in question despite several reminders and unfulfilled payment schedules.
On July 1, 2019 Standard Chartered Bank acting through its lawyers wrote to Ms Nabirongo notifying her that the properties would be auctioned if payment due on the loan is not made.
About Senana Investment
Senana Investments owns a number of properties and runs a number of businesses including Senana Hyper Supermarket on Buganda Road and a wholesale establishment in Kikuubo. The company mainly deals in home and supermarket items, such as kitchen ware, plastic products and toiletries.
The company lists Ms Nabirongo, Ms Susan Nanyombi, Ms Margaret Tusubira, Mr Willy Semyaalo, Mr Allan Wanyama, Mr Derick Ssekwe, Mr Joshua Kayanja and Mr Fred Serukenya as directors.
