The High Court has allowed two health companies, run by David Kyewalabye-Male, the former head of Buganda Land Board (BLB), to stay in their rented building in Rubaga until the main case is resolved.
The decision stops the landlord, James Lubega, from evicting them or interfering with their operations for now.
The case involves Kyewalabye-Male’s Gombe Medical Services Limited and Intercity Health Access Limited, who run a medical facility at Balintuma Road in Namirembe, Rubaga Division and their landlord, James Lubega who wants them evicted for failure to pay rent.
They appealed against a lower court official’s decision that had denied their request for an injunction, to prevent eviction by Lubega.
In a ruling delivered electronically by Justice Aisha Naluzze, she overturned the earlier dismissal by the Deputy Registrar.
She explained that the companies had shown enough evidence of a serious case worth a full trial, and that evicting them could cause “irreparable damage”.
“A temporary injunction is meant to keep things as they are until the main case is decided,” she noted, citing established legal principles. She pointed out that the companies are currently in physical control of the property and operating a valuable health service there.
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Lubega had argued there was no immediate eviction threat and accused the companies of not paying rent for four years, but the court found evidence of potential eviction risks, including from a separate ongoing lawsuit filed by Lubega seeking to remove them.
One key issue was whether the appeal was filed on time. Under the law, appeals against a registrar’s decision must be made within seven days. The Deputy Registrar’s ruling was uploaded on May 29, 2025, but the companies filed their appeal on June 19, 2025, which was late.
However, Justice Naluzze allowed it to proceed “in the interest of justice,” saying strict time limits should not block a fair hearing in special cases like this, where a health business and public access to services are at stake.
Lubega’s side claimed the companies were using the court to avoid paying rent and even questioned their right to have security guards on the property during the dispute. But the judge focused on preserving the “status quo” – the current situation, to avoid making the main lawsuit pointless if eviction happened first.
For now, the court order blocks Lubega, his agents, or anyone acting for him from evicting the companies, closing the building, or disturbing their use of the property. Kyewalabye Male can breathe for the time being.
