City Lawyer Kintu Acquitted as High Court Halts Criminal Case

Kampala, Uganda | THE BLACK EXAMINER | Prominent Kampala lawyer Felix Kintu Nteza has been acquitted as the High Court halted criminal proceedings against him in connection with allegations of fraudulent financial gain linked to a disputed land transaction in Wakiso District.

Kintu faced charges in the Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court, stemming from a 2013 land transaction dispute between the heirs of the late George Kamya and Interlink Education Services Limited.

Justice Isaac Muwata, presiding over the Criminal Division of the High Court, terminated the criminal case against Kintu, reasoning that a related civil case was already pending against the sellers and Kintu with similar circumstances. The judge decried the criminal case before the Magistrates Court as an abuse of the legal process, asserting that the resolution of the pending civil dispute would adequately determine the rightful seller and the party responsible for refunding the claimed sum of Shs195 million.

“To prevent conflicting judgments between the High Court and the lower court, it is prudent to suspend the criminal proceedings,” ruled Justice Muwata, emphasizing that the suspension would facilitate the court’s handling of civil matters filed back in 2014.

Justice Muwata also argued that allowing the case to proceed in the lower court would be prejudicial to Mr. Kintu, who had represented the vendors involved in the disputed land transaction.

According to court records, in 2014, Interlink Education Services initiated a lawsuit against 13 beneficiaries of the late Kamya’s estate and Mr. Kintu in the High Court, accusing them of breaching a sales agreement by failing to provide a land title and remove squatters from a disputed 15-acre land on block 220, plot 64 in Gimbo, Wakiso District.

This High Court ruling stemmed from a land transaction dispute between the late Kamya’s heirs and Interlink Education Services, who accused the lawyer of deceitfully obtaining Shs195 million by purportedly selling land that was not available.

Court documents reveal that the directors of Interlink had filed a criminal complaint against the seasoned lawyer when he refused to compel his client, Abdul Sewaya, to refund their money.

Following the court’s decision, Kintu expressed his satisfaction in an interview, welcoming the ruling and asserting that the case against him lacked legal merit, deeming it frivolous. He remarked, “I have contested this case vigorously because it lacked substance and seemed intended solely to tarnish my reputation for reasons unknown to me. The court has now ruled based on the law, recognizing that lawyers should not be held responsible for their clients’ mistakes.”

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