Africa-Press – Uganda. Tooro Queen Mother Best Kemigisa has been sued for failure to pay Shs1 billion legal fees.
Lawyers of Alex Candia and Oundo David Wandera Advocates sued Ms Kemigisa before the High Court in Kampala.
An August 24 affidavit filed by Mr Oundo contends that on May 22, 2014, the Queen Mother instructed him and Mr Alex Candia to represent her in a High Court case against lawyer Bob Kasango (RIP).
Kasango: A gifted lawyer who freed many, but died in chains
She was seeking to recover more than Shs3b from Kasango. The money in question belonged to the Queen Mother who entrusted Kasango with the duty of receiving it from the Lands Ministry Permanent Secretary.
“The above instructions were executed and the case was handled to conclusion where judgment was delivered in my presence on March 2, 2017,”Mr Oundo states in his affidavit.
He further claims that the Queen Mother on the same day instructed Mr Oundo to be on a watching brief in a criminal case against Kasango.
“I dully watched the brief both in the trial court and High Court on appeal where the appellate court found the accused guilty, convicted him and sentenced him and further ordered him to refund over Shs3b to the respondent (Queen Mother),”he said.
Mr Oundo contends that having executed the instructions of the Queen Mother, they held several meetings at her Kampala residence in Buziga with a view of being paid the legal fees.
“The respondent kept on promising to pay but all her promises were not honoured since 2017 to date. Due to the respondent’s inaction, an advocate-client bill of costs was served on her on January 6, requiring her to pay professional fees and disbursements of Shs1b within 30 days, which notice was not honoured,”Mr Oundo contends.
He added: “The respondent (Queen Mother) declined to pay the said sum of money as demanded but instead, through her lawyers of Akampurira & Partners, alleged that she fully paid us and that she was not indebted to us. As the result of the respondent’s refusal to pay the professional fees and disbursements as demanded, the only recourse available to me and Candia is to seek this court’s leave to tax the Advocate-Client Bill of costs.”
In 2015, Buganda Road Magistrate’s Court ordered Kasango to pay Shs3b as compensation to the Queen Mother besides another order to pay a fine of Shs12m or be imprisoned for five years.
By press time, the Queen Mother had not yet filed her defence.
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