By Spy Uganda
Last week TheSpy Uganda reported about a ruthless landlady only identified as Mariam who locked tenant’s children inside the house for the whole day, without food, after their mother objected unlawful, forceful eviction to pave way for a new tenant who apparently increased the price from UGX2m to 3m per month and paid six months in advance.
After summoning her last week and she responded with excuses that she had got sick, Kajjansi Police station has since given her up to Friday this week to appear without fail and record statement to allegations that she unlawfully locked up human beings in her house after having a disagreement with her tenant. Also summoned to record statement is area chairman Francis Ssemambo. It’s alleged that, after the landlady locked the house, she dumped the keys at chairman’s home and after along day of confinement, the tenant picked the keys from Chairman’s home to open the children. According to police, they want to know Chairman’s role and therefore asked to go and make statement.
Now, Mariam faces 2yr jail term over unlawful confinement which is actually contrary to Article 23(2), 28(1) 24 and 44(c) 1995 of Ugandan constitution.
The Penal Code Act Cap 120 section 248 provides that for wrongful confinement, any person who wrongfully confines any other person commits a misdemeanor and once proven guilty, one is imprisoned for 2years.
Genesis Of The Whole Saga
It all started when a female tenant (names withheld) with her children paid her rent for six months beginning from October 1, 2021, although the contract shows 5months because the landlady argued that one month’s pay is security, in case her children spoilt her house.
However, even before the 5 months could end, the landlady sent a notice to evict the tenant, arguing that she had got a new tenant, who had agreed to pay 3m per month from shs 2m the current tenant was paying. When the tenant insisted that she was willing to negotiate new terms again amidst the existing contract, the landlady told her it was not possible because the ‘new tenant’ had even already paid!
The current tenant in October paid the equivalent of Uganda shillings 12m in United States dollars (Mariam only accepts dollars). Now if the new one paid shs3m per month for six months, presumably, Mariam has so far bagged shs 30m in less than six months, from two tenants paying for the same house!
Area Chairman Involved In Dirty Game After Allegedly Wetting His Beak: According to the tenant, on Saturday the landlady came into the house in the absence of the tenant (only kids were home) and told the children to warn their mother that on Saturday she was coming to evict her so she should (tenant) leave early if she didn’t want to be embarrassed.
True to her word, according to the tenant, an Saturday morning, Mariam came into the company of LC1 Chairman Lubowa Zone known as Francis Ssemambo ready for the illegal eviction.
When they arrived at the house, they didn’t find the tenant as she had gone to work but found her children who told the landlady that their mother wasn’t around. The landlady instead entered into the kitchen side of the house, picked the house keys, locked the children up in the house and went away with the keys!
This kids starved whole day without food and water, that’s according to her narration and that the landlady refused to pick up her calls whole day when she tried to plead to her to have mercy on the kids.
According to the agreement seen by this website, the tenant’s agreement for 5 months was running up to 1/March 2022, and then remember she paid for six months, one month’s money (shs2m) being security which is still with the landlady. This means she had up to six months to exhaust her shs12m. According to the tenancy/landlord agreement, a landlord is supposed to give prior notice of at least 90days.
LandLady Mariam Finally Responds To Saga
After several attempts to get her side of story on Saturday before we filed the story and Wednesday morning invain, on Wednesday night at 19:46hrs via her known telephone number 0785-1285..,, Mariam returned our reporter’s call and responded thus: “I will give you full account of my side on Friday. I have all the documents and screen shots of our conversation with my tenant. It’s only unfortunate that since Saturday I fell very sick and was admitted till today when I have just returned from the hospital”.
