The Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court, presided over by Magistrate Erias Kakooza, has remanded city businessman Shukla Mukesh of Shumuk Group of Companies for obtaining Shs221 million by false pretence.

According to court documents, Mukesh received the money from Alvi Auto Village Ltd to lease two pieces of land to the company but failed to deliver.

The former aspirant for Nakawa West Constituency Member of Parliament seat, who is charged together with Shumuk Group of Companies accountant Daramadhip Kadikar, denied the charges. However, prosecution led by Senior State Attorney Mariam Kluthum asked the court to remand him as they study his file.

He will return to court this Friday for the hearing of his bail application, as his lawyer, Badru Bwango, informed the court that his client was committed to depositing Shs20 million as a way of resolving the matter amicably.

In 2022, the businessman was found guilty on six counts of filing a false document. It was confirmed that he fabricated a letter for the official handover of Hotel Diplomat Muyenga, claiming it was signed by the late Bonny Katatumba, the former Ugandan consul to Pakistan, and his other family members.

The court ordered Mukesh to pay a fine of Shs2 million on each of the six counts, failing which he would spend the next two years in Luzira prison.