How Orient Bank, top Kampala lawyer and others connived to con businessman of commercial property

By George Mangula

Fraud of all kinds in Uganda continues without sparing top corporate companies and individuals. The latest property scam involves Orient Bank Limited, Kampala lawyer Dr Alan Shonubi of Shonubi & Musoke Advocates and others who allegedly conned an Indian businessman of a prime property in Ssasi at Kasuku.

The scam, according to documents, seen by this reporter, emerged after businessman Patel Narinder and Cell to Cell Limited approached Orient Bank Limited for a loan of US$325,000 in 2007, the businessman using his land comprised on Block 410 Plot 36 at Sissa as security. A mortgage was registered there on vide instrument No.KLA.52096 dated 4^th September, 2007.

However, trouble for Narinder and his partner Cell to Cell Limited began as they did experience cash flow challenges in the repayment of the loan facility extended to them by Orient Bank. That meant they had to seek for someone to rescue them from the financial ditch. And the rescuers came in the names of Ugandan and British citizen Jerry Burley and the late John W.P.Sherwen who agreed to give Narinder and Cell to Cell the financial aid ‘in good faith and on a friendly basis’ in October 2010.

“The financial bailout/aid was choreographed and reduced into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) where it was agreed that that Burley and Sherwen (deceased) would raise US$360,000 to pay off the amount due outstanding to Orient Bank,” the plaintiffs say in the suit to recover the property that they had now leased to Strategic Logistics Limited, a company owned by Burley and Sherwen so as to acquire the US$360,000 loan from Orient Bank, although the bank allegedly created a non-existent mortgage vide release instrument KLA352096 was for the company.

Interestingly, Burley, the late Sherwen and Strategic Logistics Limited in 2013 further defaulted on the US$360,000 loan, even though they had earlier agreed with Narinder that in the event they had to sell the land or any part thereof, they would share the proceeds of the sale in the ratio of 50:50 after settling any amount due to Orient Bank.

In the suit Narinder accuses Orient Bank of ignoring him as the owner of the land and instead decided to connive with Burley, Sherwen, Shonubi and Strategic Logistics Limited to transfer the said land to Shonubi who did not make any payments but would later also fraudulently transfer the land to Burley and the late Sherwen contrary to the spirit of the MoU they had signed earlier with Narinder.

Narinder avers that Orient Bank insisted on him presenting singed blank transfer forms before the US$325,000 loan could be availed to him. It is said Orient Bank used the same forms to transfer the land in question to Shonubi who at the same time happened to be its Company Secretary.

The above alleged fraudulent land transaction would later make Narinder landless to the extent that he was chased out of the said property and now through his lawyers of Kenneth Akampurira Advocates & Solicitors wants the  fraudulent transaction quashed by court  and his ownership of the suit property reinstated.

Apart from demanding for general damages, Narinder also wants defendants to pay Shs486, 450,000 for refusing him to access the property and personal effects locked in his house on the land and the structures destroyed by agents of Burley and the late Sherwen, now represented by the administrator of his estate.

Narinder says he was detained at Special Investigations Unit in Kireka and up to now he has failed to go back to his home and attend to his businesses following the heavy deployment of armed guards by Burley and the administrator of Sherwen’s estate.

The plaintiff also accuses the defendants of fraudulently subdividing his original land comprised on Block 410 Plot 36 at Ssisa into several plots 367 to 383, plots 493 to 494 and plots 503 to 512. He also wants court to order for registration of him as the proprietor of the suit land after the cancellation of the subdivided plots or further still, he wants the ownership of the individual subdivided plots be transferred to him.

Narinder also wants court to issue a permanent injunction restraining Burley and administrator of the estate of the late Sherwen, their agents, assignees or successors in title from any further dealings in the suit land where the Commissioner, Land Registration also appears as a defendant due to the fact that he administers land registration and keeps custody the land register.

He says he has learnt of the plan by Burley and the administrator of Sherwen’s estate to sell the suit land and flee Uganda and that he has since lodged caveat emptor in newspapers putting the whole world to notice of the illegality and dispute of the suit land.