BIRDS OF THE SAME FEATHER! As Tycoon Ham Battles ‘Nakivubo Channel Demons’, Brother Haruna Ssentongo Cited in Shs 2.4bn Kisenyi Property Chaos

Just as Kampala is still buzzing over tycoon Hamis Kiggundu’s fierce showdown with the so-called “Nakivubo Channel demons”, his brother Haruna Ssentongo has been thrown back into the spotlight — this time over a controversial Shs 2.4 billion property deal that has refused to die since 2017.

The High Court has now ruled that it will hear the full case, opening yet another chapter in the Ssentongo family’s long-running real-estate drama that keeps Kampala talking.

According to court filings, Haruna—who was allegedly drowning in debt at the time—agreed to sell a prime Kisenyi property to Downtown Bags Ltd for $700,000 (about Shs 2.4bn).

The buyer was to pay $600,000 upfront and the remaining $100,000 only after Haruna produced approved building plans and the necessary documents.

But things went south… very fast.

Haruna later stormed court in 2019 claiming Downtown Bags had defaulted on the balance.

Downtown Bags fired back with a counterclaim, accusing Haruna of trying to cheat them by refusing to hand over building plans — or even vacant possession — yet the company says it had already paid $605,338 towards clearing Haruna’s bank debts.

This year, Haruna tried to block Downtown’s counterclaim, arguing it was filed late, without permission, and needed special court approval.

He further wanted the main case frozen, saying the original court file had mysteriously “disappeared” from the registry for four full years.

Only in Uganda such things happen!

But Downtown Bags shot back, tabling a 2020 consent letter from Haruna’s own lawyers approving the filing of the counterclaim.

They also reminded court that a duplicate file had already been created to avoid delaying justice.

On 22 October 2025, Justice Susan Odongo dropped the hammer:

The counterclaim stays.

Courts have the power to accept amendments “at any stage” to resolve real disputes.

No stay of proceedings.

She dismissed Haruna’s pleas over the missing file, saying the case is still at early stages and the file can easily be rebuilt.

She gave both sides seven days to submit all documents and reconstruct the file in one sitting.