Jailed socialite Charles Sunday Olim better known as Sipapa has been abandoned by his defence lawyers citing non-payment.

Sipapa who was arrested earlier in September together with his wife, Shamilah Nakiyimba is accused of bieng involvedin the robbery of shs1.6 billion from the home of Jacob Arok a South Sudan national, in Kawuku-Bunga in Kampala on the night of August 28, 2022.

The duo was charged with six counts of aggravated robbery and remanded to Luzira Maximum Security Prison where they have been since September 9th.

In a turn of events, Sipapa’s lawyers of Elgon Advocates have come out to notify him that they will be withdrawing from his case as defence counsel and that their decisión takes immediate effect.

“This is to notify you of our decisión to terminate our services to you as defence counsel in Criminal Case no. 021 of 2022 Uganda vs Olimi Charles Sipapa and Nakiyemba Shamira currently under mention at the Chief Magistrate’s Court, Makindye,” a statement from Elgon Advocates reads in part.

The lawyers clarified that when they received instructions from Sipapa and wife seeking for legal representation they informed them that they will be charged legal fees for their involvement but this has not been fulfilled.

“To our disappointment, you have not paid even a single coin to the firm as legal fees. The nature of your case being grave/ and given the nature of evidence involved, your case requires high a level of research and sophisticated technical expertise to have strong defences as counsel would have to spend sleepless nights reading the law in and out in order to ably represent you. That kind of preparedness must be facilitated and remunerated,” the statement further reads.

The lawyers argue that despite the requirement of facilitation to prepare for the case, the city socialite and his wife have not paid any coin in form of legal fees to facilitate this.

“Despite our repetitive demands to you including several visits to you at Luzira Maximum Prisons where we discussed the subject of legal fees, you have failed and or refused to pay for our services. All the contacts you asked us to see or meet for payment have not been helpful either.”