Spenah beach evicted after court order

Calm returned to Spenah beach area in Entebbe on Thursday after Aviation Police deployed to oversee the eviction of the embattled beach proprietor, Mr John Asiimwe to allow his landlord, Mr Steven Kabuye repossess his property following days of tension as the two clashed over ownership of the premises.

Mr Kabuye’s lawyer, Mr Paul Kenneth Kakande from Alaka and Co Advocates during the eviction said he secured a court order restraining Mr Asiimwe from interfering with the eviction.

“When we got that order we went to police headquarters and they cleared it. They wrote to the Aviation Police Commandant to enforce the High Court order. By that letter which was written by the Inspector General of Police which I have here, the police has come today to make sure that the registered proprietor takes full control of the property,” he said.

The High Court at Kampala Land Division presided over by Assistant Registrar, Simon Kintu Zirintusa granted Mr Kabuye an injunction restraining Mr Asiimwe and/or his agents from trespassing on the property.

Mr Kakande said Asiimwe who has been renting the property for years had tried to forcefully take possession of the premises.

“There is nothing left in the property belonging to the former tenant. The rest of the property is kept here in the container. The owner of the property is now protected by law and business is going on as usual. The situation is now calm. There is no threat of violence and we believe the situation will remain this way because court directed the registered proprietor to use his property without interference from any person and to enjoy quiet possession,” he said.

Mr Kakande said Mr Asiimwe who owed more than Shs 200 million in rent arrears will pay for his client’s costs as ordered by the court.

“We can’t ascertain now how much he is going to pay in costs for the two applications but there are accountants who are experts in that field who will compute and tells us,” he added.

Mr Steven Sebugwawo, the LCI chairman Bugonga village said the Thursday eviction exercise went on without any interruption like it happened during previous attempts when soldiers from the Uganda People’s Defence Air force and Special Forces Command were deployed to block Asiimwe’s ejection.

“The rightful landlord is going to take over their property after successfully ejecting the tenant who had refused to vacate the premises which they were occupying without even paying rent” he said.

The eviction followed an October 26, 2022 letter signed by Erasmus Twaruhukwa on behalf of IGP Martins Okoth Ochola who directed the Commandant Aviation Police to ensure that the registered land lord and/or his agents get unrestricted access, usage and occupation of the premises as ordered by court.

Efforts to get a comment from Mr Asiimwe failed since he could not be reached through his known mobile telephone numbers