In 2010, Select Garments, one of the leading fashion stores in Uganda, signed a six-year lease for 348 square metres on the first floor of Forest Mall in Lugogo, Kampala. The building is run by Old Stanley Hotel, which is owned by businessman Stanislas Isiagi.
It was supposed to pay Shs 27 million per month plus a monthly service charge. Since part of the building was still incomplete, Select Garments invested heavily to refurbish it.
However, two years later, Select Garments fell behind on payments. The landlord (Old Stanley Hotel) went to court and Select Garments was told to pay 417 million, but both parties failed negotiations and agreed that Select Garments should pay Shs 177 million. Select Garments says the parties also reached an oral arrangement to reduce the monthly rent to a flat fee of Shs 14 million from January 2013.
Later, the landlord tried to change the terms of the agreement. In May 2014, Select Garments was evicted from the building, and some of its wares were confiscated. It runs to court.
In court, Select Garments’ lawyer, Dr Benson Tusasirwe, said the original terms had been varied. Tusasirwe displayed receipts and bank slips showing his client had consistently paid the reduced Shs 14 million.
He accused the landlord of double-charging for services, unlawfully evicting the tenant despite court orders, and confiscating property worth millions.
The landlord’s lawyer, Richard Omongole, argued there was no lawful variation in rent. Omongole said the Shs 14 million rent payments were partial and that arrears continued to accrue. He also accused Select Garments of altering the premises without consent and of failing to comply with advance rent, VAT, and service charge obligations.
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After hearing these competing claims, Justice Patience Rubagumya found that signatures and continuous possession showed the lease was valid. She accepted the receipts and bank slips of Select Garments as evidence of consistent payments from January 2013 to May 2014 and described the landlord’s invoices as “inconsistent.”
She said the landlord’s May 2014 eviction, carried out despite court orders, was wrongful and that the seizure of the tenant’s property amounted to conversion.
In her October 2024 ruling, she awarded Select Garments Shs 600 million for refurbishments, security refund, confiscated stock, and general and punitive damages. The figure has since ballooned to Shs 1 billion due to rising interest.
Old Stanley appealed the financial awards, and today (November 11), the court dismissed its attempt to freeze enforcement of the money. It will now have to pay Select Garments for wrongful eviction.
