Pastor Ssenyonga dragged to court over Shs5b debt
Pastor Jackson Ssenyonga
What you need to know:
- Claim: The Pastor claims the plaintiff was merely a money lender without a license and because of the exorbitant interest, they have since paid Shs3b since first payment on January 9, 2014.
- Pastor Ssenyoga in his affidavit acknowledged being indebted to the plaintiff. He, however, dismissed claims of the transaction as money lent disguised as goods supplied.
Kampala. Pastor Jackson Ssenyonga and his wife Eva Ssenyoga, both popular city preachers, have been summoned to court over breaching a contract.
The two preachers of the gospel, Mr and Ms Ssenyonga, according to court documents have allegedly failed to pay Shs5 billion for goods supplied to them by Mr Nathan Bisaso, the accuser, in 2013.
Debt
The plaintiff, Mr Bisaso, through his lawyers, Ssekidde Associated Advocates, on September 21, 2017, filed a plaint in the High Court of Uganda at the Commercial division (Commercial Court),seeking for recovery of debt amounting to Shs5 billion from the defendants, Pastors Jackson and Eva Ssenyonga, represented by Birungyi, Barata and Associates.
According to court documents which this newspaper has seen, Mr Bisaso claims the defendants took products from his business at B.N. Enterprises around Nasser Road in 2013 on credit, which gradually amounted to Shs5.2 billion. The plaintiff further alleges that of that Shs5.2b, only Shs270m has been paid.
In his defence, Mr Bisaso attached an agreement signed by the defendants on September 8, 2016, stipulating a payment plan of the Shs5.2b worth of goods supplied.
“The plaintiff entered into a contract to supply goods with the defendants in the year 2013. By 2014, he was demanding Shs5.2b but since 2013, defendants adamantly ignored contractual obligations. Since September 8, 2016, after signing the agreement, only Shs270m has been paid,” the court document read.
Disputing suit
However, the Pastors, who are also the proprietors of Christian Life Ministries and Rhino Communication Limited, disputed the suit in their reply saying: “The contract drafted by Katende Sempebwa and company advocates was fraudulent and illegal.”
Pastor Ssenyoga in his affidavit acknowledged being indebted to the plaintiff. He, however, dismissed claims of the transaction as money lent disguised as goods supplied.
The defendants claim the plaintiff lent them Shs800m that only rose to high amounts owing to the high interest rate of 20 per cent levied on the principal amount because they could not pay on time.
