Dr. Alan Shonubi, one of Uganda’s well-known lawyers, has been ordered by the High Court to facilitate the refund of Shs 100 million to Sal Oil Limited after a land deal went sour. The ruling, delivered on August 15, 2025, stems from a 2019 agreement where Sal Oil tried to buy a plot in Mbale but never got the land transferred.
Justice Dr. Farouq Lubega ruled that Shonubi, through his firm, Shonubi, Musoke & Co. Advocates, was a key player in the deal and must ensure the money is returned. The cash was paid into his firm’s escrow account as a down payment for the land on Pallisa Road.
Shonubi represented the sellers, the UK-based Kiritkumar Bhikhulal Shah and Reshmikant Bhikhulal Shah (who are administrators of family estates), using powers of attorney.
The trouble started when Sal Oil paid the Shs 100 million on September 12, 2019, expecting transfer documents within one month. But the sellers failed to deliver, blaming delays on COVID-19 travel restrictions and a parliamentary probe into the property.
The court dismissed these excuses, saying the deadline had passed before the pandemic hit hard, and no documents were provided even later.
Sal Oil canceled the deal in September 2021 and demanded its money back, but got no response. The company sued in 2022, claiming breach of contract. The judge agreed, declaring the sellers in violation and Sal Oil justified in pulling out.
“The defendants breached the sale agreement,” Justice Lubega wrote in his judgment. He ordered the sellers to refund the full amount, plus 16% interest from the date of the ruling until paid. Sal Oil also gets court costs covered.
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Shonubi argued he was just an agent and shouldn’t be sued, but the court disagreed. Since the sellers live abroad and the money sits in his firm’s account, he’s responsible for handling the refund.
The judge noted Shonubi had full authority to manage the sale but failed to complete it.
The land, about 0.416 acres on Plots 33 and 35, Pallisa Road, was once owned by departed Asians and had caveats and tenants complicating things. Sal Oil denied taking possession or compensating tenants, and the court found no proof otherwise.
The sellers filed a counterclaim for the full purchase price and damages, but it was thrown out. The ruling could be appealed, but for now, Sal Oil gets its money back after nearly six years.
