Masaka city businessman Robert Ssekigye has threatened to take legal action against Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) if they fail to handover a building, he bought from them.

Ssekigye told theGrapevine that he purchased Zamo building which is situated in Masaka city along Kampala Masaka Road from the bank after it was advertised in the newspapers.

“I expect DTB to hand over the building to me. They should refund my money if they have failed to sort themselves out with Muyanja Mbabali,” Ssekigye threatened.

Former state minister for investment Mbabali’s lawyer Patrick Mugisha admitted that he frustrated the move to sell off his client’s building explaining that the transaction was illegal.

“We had initially secured a court order stopping them from proceeding with the entire transaction, but they remained adamant and sold the property,” Mugisha said.

He explained that the building was wrongly attached by the bank because it was not part of the collateral which his client used to secure the loan which is in billions of shillings. He added that they have secured a caveat from the High Court stopping any transaction on the said building.

This website has established that Mbabali lost a number of buildings including Nkozi Hotels in Mpigi district and other commercial buildings in Kampala and Masaka over loans that’s why he is fighting tooth and nail to save Zamo building which he claims was not on the list of the buildings which he used as security when securing the said loan.

He further wants Court to force the bank to bring to court the accounts of all financial transactions and dealings belonging to his business firm MFK Corporation.

On Thursday last week, Mastulah Naava, the Masaka City Deputy Resident City Commissioner in charge of Nyendo-Mukungwe Division saved Mbabali’s building when she stopped the attaching of the building.

This comes after Charles Ssebambulide, the commissioner private security organisation and private firearms wrote to the Greater Masaka region police commander instructing him to supervise the deployment of HASH security company which was hired by the bank to provide security when the property was being attached.

Banks through their agents first took over the building and changed the locks as they planned to hand it over to the new buyer.

Naava told theGrapevine that they stopped the move because DTB bank didn’t follow the required procedure including providing a court order allowing the takeover of ownership of the building.

DTB Bank was not reached for a comment.

By Sengooba Alirabaki