Sitting as a single Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Stella Alibateese has allowed Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to evict a car bond owned by imprisoned city businessman Muhammad Ssebuwufu after declaring that it has been operating illegally.
Justice Alibateesa noted that retired High Court Judge Yasin Nyanzi in 2013 erred in law and fact by allowing Ssebuwufu to operate in the area which is not gazette by KCCA for operating a car bond business.
Ssebuwufu’s Pine car bond is located along Lumumba Avenue.
Justice Alibateese agreed with KCCA lawyers that Ssebuwufu was issued with a trade license to operate a private car park and not a car bond and he intentionally chose to do the latter which contravenes with Section 11 of the Trade Licensing Act and other laws such as Section 62 of the East African Community Management Act, the Physical Planning Act and the Public Health Act.
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The judge cited the National Physical Planning Standards and Guidelines which restrict the establishment of car bonds within zonal areas designated as industrial areas which Ssebuwufu violated.
She explained that KCCA issued a notice to Ssebuwufu dated 2nd March 2012 and even though he personally received it, he refused to acknowledge receipt of the notice.
He was however put on notice to relocate his vehicle sale business activity from the Central Business District on grounds that the land he occupied had never been gazetted as an industrial plot for a car showroom and warehouse and that this activity had never been permitted by KCCA which rendered it illegal.
She further explained that the KCCA notice stated that the illegal business had led to a cluster of people and cars encroaching on the road reserve yet with inadequate amenity facilities and was noisy which was a public nuisance under the Public Health Act.
Within 28 days of receipt of the notice, Ssebuwufu was instructed to vacate the premises failure to which KCCA would re-enter the premises as provided under Section 55 of the Physical Planning Act,2010.
The judge agreed with KCCA lawyers that Ssebuwufu was given the opportunity for fair hearing to rebut the orders through seeking audience with KCCA but he instead rushed to the High Court to secure the order stopping his eviction.
“From the record of appeal on Page 29, it appears there was also correspondence between the appellant and the lawyers of the respondent on the same issue. This is evident from the letter dated 19th August 2013, from the Director of Legal Affairs of the appellant to Web Advocates and Solicitors, the respondent’s lawyers in response to their letter dated 7th August 2013,” the judge stated.
The judge further explained that the communications and correspondences between the two parties show that Ssebuwufu was given the opportunity to be heard and before the issuing of the final notice, he had been operating in the illegal premises for almost two years.
She further rubbished Ssebuwufu’s defense that the renewal of his business licence by KCCA was evident to prove that he was operating legally explaining that the renewal was done for him to operate a private car park and not a car bond adding that the extension of a similar license would not have been a contradiction.
In conclusion, the judge allowed KCCA’s appeal with costs even though the development comes at a time when Ssebuwufu is still serving his 19 years imprisonment after losing his appeal at the Supreme Court.
In 2019, the Criminal Division of the High Court convicted Ssebuwufu on murder charges and sentenced him to 40 years in prison, but he challenged the sentence at the Court of Appeal which reduced the sentence to 19 years. When he appealed at the Supreme Court, he lost the appeal.
Ssebuwufu was convicted for murdering Betty Katushabe a city businesswoman over a car debt of Shs9m.
