Justice Celia Nagawa of the Family Division of the High Court has saved a Nigerian tycoon from losing his multibillion empire while dissolving a 23-year marriage.
In her ruling, Justice Nagawa dismissed Annex Atukunda’s prayer to be allowed by court to take all the multibillion properties they accumulated during her marriage to Martin Ikubor on grounds that they are all registered in her names.
According to court documents, the couple contracted a customary marriage in November, 2003 at Ngooma Village in Sheema District.
During their marriage, God blessed them with two male children who are now aged 16 and 18 respectively.
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However, court confirmed that the husband has been treating her with cruelty by physically assaulting her on two documented occasions which resulted into her filing a police complaint on 12th April, 2018 and 27th April, 2022 at Lubowa Police Station.
She further told court that the husband was using obscene language against her in the presence of their children on top of being violent to the extent of issuing repeated death threats, threats to set their matrimonial home ablaze with the children inside, deliberate destruction of household property and invasion of her business at Lweza along Entebbe Road while threatening to kill her.
Because of the violent environment at home, Atukunda decided to vacate their matrimonial home at Seguku together with the children and relocated, first to Bwebajja and subsequently to Munyonyo in Makindye Division.
In his response, the husband denied the allegations of cruelty insisting that his wife was very provocative and always threatened him that she would cause his deportation and her actions were a calculated scheme to acquire all his properties registered in her name.
When the couple agreed to dissolve their marriage, the husband protested the prayer made by his wife’s lawyers to take all the properties they accumulated together which are registered in her names.
He explained to court that after he relocated to Uganda from Nigeria and getting a wife, in 2004 his family gave him a gift of USD 350,000 which he brought to Uganda.
He divulged that because he was not a Ugandan, he was disturbed with opening up a bank account in his names in Uganda that is why he decided to open one in the names of his wife in Standard Chartered Bank
He stated that because the wife by then was still a university student, the bank account was blocked on suspicion of money laundering given that the account had a lot of money, and was in the name of a young person who was a student with no source of income.
After investigations, the bank cleared the funds and he started using his money to acquire properties the wife wanted to take.
The judge agreed with him that the testimony of the wife claiming that she got the money to purchase the properties through her shop Nalongo & Company is not believable.
The judge further dismissed the Memorandum of Understanding the wife based on to claim the sole ownership of a multibillion matrimonial home situated on Busiro Block 377 Plots 264 and 265 at Seguku after the husband proved with evidence that he was forced to sign the said agreement.
The husband stated that in 2022, he was ambushed at his home by armed military men who had his security guard bound and restrained. They held him at gunpoint, transported him to Nalumunye Police Station and detained him overnight.
He was given twenty minutes to pack his belongings and vacate the matrimonial home.
Upon his release, he found his own business guarded by police who denied him entry and he was told that the process of deporting him back to Nigeria was underway and the only option he had was to sign the said document for the house which is valued at Shs1.5bn
The engineers who were contracted to build the house and the landlord who sold the land to the couple confirmed that the husband is the one who purchased the land and facilitated its construction.
The judge further establish that the wife didn’t financially contribute to the buying of all the properties but being a wife with children, she has to get some share to help her move on with her life after dissolution of their marriage.
She ordered that she retains land situated on Block 401 Plot 1255 at Kikusa and Mawanyi, land in Kitende-Namulanda measuring approximately 15 decimals, leasehold interest on Block 254 Plot 84, Gaba Road, Kansanga and the shops on it.
AA Care Clinic a family business and a family home in Sheema, money held in ABSA Bank and Bank of Africa were also given to her.
On the issue of the matrimonial home, the judge directed that the husband gets 85% and the remaining share be given to the wife and this should be done after a government valuer has measured the value of the home basing on the market value
Land at Block 377 Plots 269 and 270 at Katale-Seguku, land at Kyaggwe Block 102 Plots 1323 and 1324 at Njinja, Mukono District, and ordered the wife who is registered on the land title within 30 days after the delivering of the judgement to execute a lease for a term of ninety-nine years in the names of the husband because the laws do not allow him to own a mailo land.
They also instructed her to do the same for the matrimonial home land title at Katale-Seguku, land at Busiro Block
290 Plot 390 at Kitala, Wakiso and Busiro Block 379 Plot 597 at Katale-Seguku.
The wife was also directed to execute all the necessary documents and instruments required to affect the transfer of Blue Cross Medicare Services from her name to the husband.
The judge directed that the money lending business the couple have been running should be audited to establish its value and ordered that the wife should get 20% and 80% should go to the husband.
The judge further directed the wife to hand over to the husband all the original agreements, certificates of title, and related securities in her custody so as he henceforth assumes the responsibility for recovery of the outstanding sums and shall remit to the wife 20% of any net recoveries as and when realized.
On the issue of the children, the judge granted joint legal custody of them noting that the wife will remain with physical legal custody of them and the husband shall have structured and meaningful visitation rights.
The judge also stated that where the children are attending day school, the husband shall have access to them every alternate weekend i.e. Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Where either or both of them are enrolled in boarding school, the parents shall have access to them on alternate weekends i.e. Saturday and Sunday and during school holidays and mid-term breaks, the husband shall have access on one weekend, and the following weekend shall be for the wife on a rotational basis.
The judge stated that each access period shall run from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on the respective weekend day and in respect to the 16 year old child, visitation shall be exercised with due regard to the child’s age, maturity, and expressed wishes, provided such wishes are freely made and not influenced by either parent.
The husband shall be entitled to reasonable phone and electronic communication with the children and both parents shall be equally responsible for the general welfare and major decisions affecting the children’s upbringing.
The judge further ruled that the husband shall be responsible for meeting the children’s education, educational needs and medical expenses and the wife shall be responsible for the meeting the children’s day-to-day care, housing, feeding, and routine maintenance.
