Landlord wants police to vacate late Katanga’s office

The late Henry Katanga with his wife Molly. The couple had been married for nearly 30 years. Photo/File

The Uganda Cooperative Alliance (UCA), the landlord of the office of deceased businessman Henry Katanga, has asked the police’s Criminal Investigations Department to vacate it for other users or pay rent if they are still interested in keeping it under lock and key.

At time of the businessman’s death in an alleged domestic brawl with his wife Molly at their matrimonial home in Mbuya near Kampala, Katanga was renting office space at Alliance Building on Nkrumah Road.

UCA has received some hope from the late Katanga’s children who have agreed to settle the rent arrears and vacate the premises.

“The late Henry Katanga was a tenant of Uganda Cooperative Alliance Ltd at its Alliance Building located on Nkurumah Road Plot 47/49. Shortly after he passed on in November 2023, police came and took over his office, locked it and went with the keys of the office,” reads in part the letter seen by this publication.

“We have been approached by the children of the late Katanga who are willing to pay all the rent that has accumulated since November 2023 and vacate the premises to avoid further accumulation of rent and wastage of property. However, they have no access to the office since the keys are in your occupation,” reads in part the July 30 letter seen by this publication.

UCA further explains that should the police be interested in locking up the premises, “we request for immediate payment of all outstanding rent and further enter into a rental agreement with us for a defined duration you seek to have the premises remain locked.”

Further in its letter dated July 30, UCA has asked that the parties responsible for the closure of the office premises return the keys for use by other tenants interested in renting the premises.

UCA said should the CID and the police continue holding an interest in cordioning off the office, they should remit rent for the last ten months and the months going forward.

“Please note that UCA Building is private property and the land lord deserves the right to determine who rents its premises. Considering that you have closed the office for over nine months without payment of rent, UCA would like to repossess its premises and rent it to other people who are ready to pay rent,” UCA said in a letter to CID that this publication has seen.

UCA has since given a seven-day ultimatum to the police to vacate the office. “Failure to adhere to the request within seven days will leave UCA with no option other than exercising its rights under the law governing Landlords and Tenants,” the letter adds.

We were unable to establish, by press time, if police had already responded to the letter or if they had granted the wishes of the landlord. 

During the murder trial of the Katanga case before the High Court in Kampala last month, Mr Ronald Mugabe Ruranga, one of the prosecution witnesses who was a close friend to the late businessman and his lawyer, told the court that when he learnt of the death of Katanga, he locked his office which he said was next to his at Alliance Building.

He said he later handed over the keys to the police who came to carry out investigations.

The hearing of the Katanga case resumes next week on Tuesday following a long break. The prosecution is expected to line up more witnesses