Judge quits Ruparelia, dfcu Bank case

Kampala. The deputy head of the Commercial Court, Justice Elizabeth Jane Alividza, has stepped down from hearing a case in which property mogul Sudhir Ruparelia sued Sebalu & Lule Advocates, seeking to stop them from representing dfcu Bank.
Mr Ruparelia claims the law firm is guilty of conflict of interest and should not represent dfcu Bank which he sued following the takeover of Crane Bank after it was closed by the central bank in 2016.
“Justice Alividza stepped down from this matter and it was reallocated on January 10, 2019...” deputy registrar Festo Nsenga informed the parties before him yesterday when the case was for hearing.
Mr Nsenga did not disclose the reasons why the initial judge withdrew. In response to the registrar’s communication, counsel Christopher Bwanika, who represented dfcu Bank, said they were not aware of the change of judge.
Mr Nsenga said the new judge was, however, unwell and would not hear their case. He adjourned the case to March 1.
Mr Ruparelia told the media he did not mind change of judge. “All the judges are the same and we respect them. That is how the system works and that is it,” he said.
On commenting about the matter being adjourned, the businessman said time lost to them is precious.
In December last year, Mr Ruparelia, through his Crane Management Services, petitioned court saying there existed an advocate-client relationship with Sebalu & Lule Advocates yet the same law firm is representing an opposing party (dfcu Bank) against them.
Crane Management Services further contend that because of this relationship, confidential information was discussed between the two.
The original matter involves Crane Management Services suing dfcu Bank over rental arrears of Shs2.9b and $385,728.54 for premises formerly occupied by the defunct Crane Bank.
The suit documents indicate that when dfcu Bank took over the assets and liabilities of Crane Bank, it also took over occupation and use of the said rented properties from which the real estate company wants to recover the accumulated rent arrears.