A nasty fallout erupted between Premier Distilleries Limited and businesswoman Sharitah Haguma after the eviction of her Lazio Italian Bar and Restaurant from the premises accusing of failure to clear rent for months.
Haguma says her bar was forcefully kicked out over alleged rent arrears of three months, each charged at USD 2,700 which claims she flatly denies.
According to her, she had occupied the property for over five years without defaulting on rent until last Sunday, when she says she was illegally evicted.
She insists she found the premises empty when she first moved in and later pumped over USD 800,000 into developing Lazio into one of Kampala’s high-end hangout spots. Haguma claims the eviction was chaotic, with her property removed without any inventory, payroll systems vandalised, and 30 staff members instantly rendered jobless.
A visit to the premises earlier this week painted a grim picture. Iron sheets were being removed from inside the building, rubbish lay scattered outside, and the bar’s signpost had been dumped at the gate. Haguma says she reported the matter at Jinja Road Police Station but was frustrated by the process and claims she lost property worth millions in the eviction.
Through their lawyer, Ssekindi Gonzaga, Premier Distilleries Limited says it never had a tenancy agreement with Lazio Italian Bar, but with a separate entity known as Lazo Company Limited, which allegedly defaulted on rent. Gonzaga says the landlord wrote to Lazo Company Limited in January 2025 over unpaid rent, and although the company asked for more time in February, it failed to pay by March.
According to Gonzaga, a three-month notice was issued in line with the tenancy agreement. In August 2025, Lazio Italian Bar reportedly approached Premier Distilleries to formalise a tenancy agreement, but the deal collapsed after the agreed payment was not made.
By September, Gonzaga says the bar acknowledged rent arrears in writing but failed to clear them within five days. The landlord then pulled out of negotiations and asked the bar to vacate.
When Lazio allegedly refused to leave, Premier Distilleries sought help from the Police Land Protection Unit. Gonzaga says the move was approved by the Kampala Metropolitan East Regional Police Commander and later cleared by the District Security Committee.
Although Lazio later petitioned the Inspector General of Police, temporarily halting the process, Gonzaga says the IGP’s legal department eventually cleared the landlord to reclaim the property.
He says the official re-entry took place on January 2, 2026, at 8:30am, in the presence of the LC chairperson, District Police Commander, and police officers. Gonzaga describes the exercise as peaceful, adding that Haguma was allowed to remove her belongings using seven trucks and later returned to pick a generator.
Documents from the Police Land Protection Unit and correspondence from the Deputy RCC show several meetings and approvals before the eviction, with authorities insisting due process was followed.
