Court clears sale of Springs Hotel in Katatumba debt case

• The High Court cleared the attachment of two Springs International Hotel properties over a Shs173.36 million debt.

• The commercial units sit on Colville Street in central Kampala and are valued by the company at more than Shs1 billion.

• The court ruled that mortgages and a pending appeal do not automatically stop execution.

• Springs International Hotel has 30 days to pay before creditors seek the sale of the properties.

The High Court has cleared the attachment and possible sale of two commercial properties owned by Springs International Hotel over an unpaid Shs173.36 million court award.

Springs International Hotel belongs to businessman Shukla Mukesh’s Shumuk Group.

The court gave the company 30 days to settle the debt. Failure to pay could lead to the sale of Condominium Units 67 and 68 on Plot 2, Colville Street, Kampala.

Assistant Registrar Samuel M Kagoda Ntende of the High Court’s Land Division issued the order.

The money arose from Civil Suit No. 314 of 2018.

Angella Katatumba, Rugiirwa Katatumba, Charles Odere, Benson Tusasiirwe and Julius Turinawe applied to enforce the judgment after the company failed to pay.

The decision adds another chapter to a property dispute between the Shumuk Group and the estate of the late businessman Bonney Mwebesa Katatumba.

The two sides have fought over the ownership and occupation of several commercial properties in Kampala for more than 15 years.

The Colville Street units form part of the property portfolio at the centre of the dispute.

In December 2025, the High Court ordered Mukesh, Springs International Hotel, Shumuk Springs Development and another related company to pay about Shs14 billion for occupying part of the property without legal authority.

The property is known as Blacklines House and now operates as Shumuk House.

The court also cancelled transfers made in favour of Springs International Hotel. It ruled that ownership remained with the Katatumba estate until the original sale agreement was completed.

Springs International Hotel opposed the attachment of the two units.

The company said the properties were worth more than Shs1 billion. It argued that selling them to recover Shs173.36 million would be excessive.

Its lawyers also said the properties carried registered mortgages and other legal claims.

They argued that a related case remained before the Court of Appeal and that the High Court should stop enforcement.

The court rejected the arguments.

Kagoda ruled that the lack of a valuation report could not stop the execution process. He said valuation normally takes place before an auction.

The court also ruled that a mortgage does not protect property from attachment.

A judgment creditor may sell the owner’s remaining interest in the mortgaged property. Mortgage lenders retain the first claim on money raised from the sale.

This means any unpaid mortgage would be cleared before the remaining funds are used to settle the court award.

The court also rejected the argument that the pending appeal should stop execution.

It ruled that filing an appeal does not suspend enforcement unless a court issues a formal stay of execution.

Springs International Hotel must now pay the Shs173.36 million within 30 days. Failure to do so will allow the creditors to attach and seek the sale of the two Colville Street units.