COURT SLAPS PROF. KWESIGA! Judge Orders UIRI ED To Surrender Car, Pay Damages After Losing Shs300m Land War
Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) Executive Director Prof. Charles Kwesiga has suffered a major legal setback after the High Court ordered him to immediately surrender a motor vehicle he retained for years following a bitter Shs300 million land transaction, bringing to a close a protracted dispute that saw him first compelled by court to hand over land titles before being dragged back to court over the vehicle.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Flavia Nassuna Matovu of the High Court Land Division and seen by RedPepper, the court ruled that Motor Vehicle Registration No. UBJ 928Y Toyota Hilux did not form part of the purchase price for land comprised in Kyaddondo Block 223 Plots 3825 and 4525, as Prof. Kwesiga had claimed.
The court ordered Prof. Kwesiga to immediately return the vehicle to its rightful owner, Swithin Beijuka, pay Shs5 million in general damages for unlawfully retaining it, and meet the costs of the suit.
The case pitted Blue Swan Products Ltd and its director Swithin Beijuka against C&J Ventures Ltd, Prof. Charles Kwesiga and the Commissioner Land Registration.
SHS300M DEAL TURNS SOUR
The dispute originated from a land sale agreement signed on July 1, 2021, under which C&J Ventures Ltd agreed to sell prime Namugongo land to Blue Swan Products Ltd.
According to the plaintiffs, the written agreement clearly fixed the purchase price at Shs300 million.
They paid Shs280 million before temporarily handing over Beijuka’s Toyota Registration No. UBJ 928Y merely as security for the outstanding balance.
After clearing the remaining balance, the buyers expected Prof. Kwesiga to hand over the duplicate certificates of title together with the vehicle.
Instead, they accused him of refusing to release either.
Prof. Kwesiga admitted signing the agreement but insisted the actual purchase price had been Shs380 million, claiming the car—valued at Shs80 million—formed part of the agreed consideration.
DEMAND LETTER IGNORED
Court records show that before rushing to court, Blue Swan Products first attempted to recover both the land titles and the vehicle through lawyers.
On September 16, 2022, Simon Tendo Kabenge (STEK) Advocates served Prof. Kwesiga with a formal Demand and Notice of Intention to Sue.
The lawyers reminded him that Blue Swan Products had fully paid for the land and that he had already executed transfer forms.
They further stated that the car had only been surrendered as security for payment of the purchase price and demanded that Prof. Kwesiga immediately release both the duplicate certificates of title and the vehicle.
The lawyers gave him seven days, up to September 23, 2022, warning that failure to comply would leave them with no option but to institute legal proceedings.
The notice concluded with the warning:
“EXPECT NO FURTHER NOTICE!”
Despite receiving the demand, Prof. Kwesiga allegedly failed to comply.
COURT FIRST FORCED HIM TO RELEASE LAND TITLES
Following the ignored demand notice, Blue Swan Products filed High Court Civil Suit No. 864 of 2022, together with Miscellaneous Application No. 1918 of 2022 seeking judgment on admission.
On December 20, 2022, the High Court Land Division granted the application.
The court entered judgment on admission against C&J Ventures Ltd and Prof. Charles Kwesiga, ordering them to immediately surrender the duplicate certificates of title for Kyaddondo Block 223 Plots 3825 and 4525.
The court further directed the Commissioner for Land Registration to transfer ownership of the land into the names of Blue Swan Products Ltd.
Following that order, the land titles were finally surrendered and the property was successfully transferred.
However, the Toyota car remained in Prof. Kwesiga’s possession.
That forced Blue Swan Products and Beijuka to continue with the remaining claims before the High Court, seeking recovery of the vehicle and compensation.
FORMER BOSS VS FORMER EMPLOYEE
During the hearing, Swithin Beijuka told court he personally knew Prof. Kwesiga because he had previously worked under him at UIRI.
He testified that he trusted his former boss enough to hand over the vehicle at UIRI without demanding formal documentation.
According to Beijuka, Prof. Kwesiga promised to return the vehicle after the outstanding balance of the purchase price had been cleared.
When payment was completed, however, Prof. Kwesiga allegedly became elusive, forcing him to lodge caveats on the land before filing suit.
KWESIGA INSISTS CAR WAS PAYMENT
Prof. Kwesiga maintained throughout the proceedings that the land had first been valued at Shs400 million before he agreed to sell it at Shs380 million.
He argued that the car, valued at Shs80 million, was voluntarily surrendered as part payment.
He further told court that he had remained in possession of the vehicle since receiving it and had been using it for domestic purposes.
However, under cross-examination, several cracks appeared in his defence.
Prof. Kwesiga admitted that the vehicle remained legally registered in Swithin Beijuka’s names.
He also admitted having no written authority permitting transfer of ownership.
Most importantly, he conceded that he possessed no written agreement proving the vehicle formed part of the purchase price.
When shown the signed sale agreement, he acknowledged that the only purchase price appearing in the document was Shs300 million.
He also admitted receiving all instalments towards that amount and confirmed that the land had since been transferred into Blue Swan Products Ltd’s names.
KEY WITNESS FAILS TO SAVE DEFENCE
The defence also called engineer Spencer Sabiti, who testified that he had witnessed meetings between the parties over the land transaction.
Sabiti claimed that Beijuka once tore up an acknowledgment indicating the vehicle formed part of the transaction.
But under cross-examination, Sabiti admitted he had not been present when the vehicle arrangement was allegedly made.
He further acknowledged that no document existed proving the car officially became part of the purchase price.
JUDGE REJECTS ORAL CLAIMS
Justice Flavia Nassuna Matovu ruled that Ugandan law does not permit parties to contradict the terms of a written agreement using unsupported oral evidence.
The court observed that the sale agreement clearly fixed the purchase price at Shs300 million.
If the alleged additional agreement involving the Shs80 million vehicle truly existed, the judge held, the law required it to be reduced into writing.
No such document was ever produced.
The court therefore concluded that the Toyota car had merely been handed over as security pending completion of payment.
Once the balance was cleared, the vehicle ought to have been returned.
Justice Matovu also rejected Prof. Kwesiga’s argument that Beijuka lacked company authority to pledge the vehicle.
The judge held that Prof. Kwesiga willingly accepted the vehicle without demanding any company resolution and therefore could not later rely on that omission to justify retaining it.
Invoking the equitable principle that “he who comes to equity must come with clean hands,” the judge ruled that Prof. Kwesiga could not benefit from an irregularity in which he had willingly participated.
FINAL ORDERS
Justice Matovu entered judgment in favour of Blue Swan Products Ltd and Swithin Beijuka.
The court declared that Swithin Beijuka remains the lawful owner of Motor Vehicle Registration No. UBJ 928Y.
Prof. Charles Kwesiga was ordered to return the vehicle forthwith.
He was also directed to pay Shs5 million in general damages for unlawfully retaining the vehicle, while the defendants were condemned to pay the costs of the suit.
WILL KWESIGA FINALLY HAND OVER THE CAR?
With the High Court having now spoken twice in the long-running dispute, all eyes are on Prof. Charles Kwesiga.
The UIRI Executive Director first resisted handing over the duplicate certificates of title until the High Court entered judgment against him and ordered their release, paving the way for the transfer of the Namugongo land into Blue Swan Products Ltd’s names.
Now, another court has ordered him to immediately return Motor Vehicle Registration No. UBJ 928Y, pay Shs5 million in general damages, and settle the costs of the suit.
The big question is whether Prof. Kwesiga will voluntarily comply with the latest judgment or whether the dispute is headed for yet another courtroom battle.
If the orders are not obeyed, the successful parties may choose to commence enforcement proceedings available under the law. Depending on the circumstances and the procedures followed, these could include applications relating to execution of the judgment, garnishee proceedings if a monetary decree remains unpaid, or contempt of court proceedings for alleged non-compliance with court orders. Any such remedies would require further legal action and court determination.
For now, the ball is firmly in Prof. Kwesiga’s court.
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