By Hannah Marion Namukasa
Leading a team of lawyers from Olympia Advocates, celebrated commercial law expert Counsel Derrick Bazekuketa has successfully saved the administrators of the multibillion-shilling estate of the late Hajji Muhamad Katimbo, a prominent trader and respected businessmanfrom a questionable Shs1.5bn costs award.
The estate administrators Hawiya Nabaale Katimbo, Hakim Kasirye, and Mariam Nannozi hired Bazekuketa’s firm after discovering that, without their knowledge, the deputy registrar had in February 2025 issued a ruling awarding their late father’s former lawyers Shs1.5bn as legal costs. The same lawyers had begun threatening to execute the impugned orders.
In their appeal, Bazekuketa’s team argued that the deputy registrar erred in law and fact by failing to apply the specific rules governing taxation of costs. They noted that the registrar did not assess each item of the bill of costs independently, as required.
The lawyers further told court that the deputy registrar illegally and erroneously taxed the bills in a generalized manner. They stated that the taxation rulings were not properly titled, did not reflect the correct application numbers, and lacked proper records of the taxation proceedings—including accurate verbatim accounts—contrary to established legal requirements.
“It is necessary to apply each rule to a specific item, cause, or matter in the taxation of costs,” the lawyers submitted.
They also argued that the registrar failed to determine and state the correct value of the subject matter, which should guide the award of instruction fees. As a result, they said the costs awarded were manifestly illegal, excessively high, and unjustified.
In their defence, the law firm of Mugisha, Namutale & Co. Advocates argued that the deputy registrar acted within the law when awarding the costs, considering the skills, labour, and responsibilities involved in handling the deceased’s legal affairs.
They stated that they had helped the late Katimbo defend ownership of vast land holdings, including property in Kyaggwe Block 118 (plots 18, 21, 23, 24, and 26) totaling 200 acres, and additional land in Kangulumira, Kayunga District. They argued that, in fact, the registrar had been “very lenient” because he had cut their original bill of costs by 90%.
In a landmark ruling, Mukono High Court Judge Jacqueline Mwondha overturned the Shs1.5bn bill of costs.
She noted that the principles governing taxation of costs are well-established. A taxing officer must apply the Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations, including establishing and reflecting the value of the subject matter when determining instruction fees.
She stressed that each item in a bill of costs must be considered distinctly, with clear reasons for allowing or disallowing it, and that instruction fees must reflect the importance, complexity, and responsibility involved—without being manifestly excessive.
“The amount of research done in a complex case is not the same as in a non-complex one, and advocates cannot be paid the same,” she noted. “Research before filing pleadings does not itself prove complexity; it may simply show an advocate’s unfamiliarity with basic principles of law, and such unfamiliarity should not be turned into an advantage against the opponent.”
Justice Mwondha questioned how the deputy registrar could award costs without determining the value of the subject matter:
For example, in Civil Suit 71 of 2020, the respondents filed a defence, but the suit was never scheduled or heard, and its subject matter was never stated. She also queried how the registrar awarded Shs1,000,000 for a six-hour meeting with the client without giving reasons.
The judge further questioned how the registrar awarded Shs400m as instruction fees for opposing an application for a temporary injunction—when the standard instruction fee for such applications is Shs300,000. Another similar application attracted Shs100m, also without explanation.
She reminded the court that while taxing officers have discretion, parties are entitled to understand the reasons behind that discretion.
Justice Mwondha ruled that the deputy registrar erred on jurisdiction, itemization, proportionality, and valuation, rendering all his taxation rulings, orders, awards, and certificates invalid.
She directed that a new deputy registrar should handle the fresh bill of costs.
Hajji Muhamad Katimbo was a well-known business community leader in Kikuubo, Kampala’s busiest commercial hub. He also served as Prime Minister of the Mushroom Clan (Obutiiko) in the Buganda Kingdom. Since his death in 2023, his family has faced relentless pressure from individuals and alleged mafias targeting his vast estate spread across the country.
