Government to pay out Shs375b for lost court cases

Beneficiary. The Kamuswaga of Kooki Apollo Sansa Kabumbuli II greets his subjects during his 14th coronation anniversary at Bakijulula Village, Byakabanda Sub- County in Rakai District on May 15 last year. Government owes the Kooki cultural leader Shs59.1b. PHOTO BY AMBROSE MUSASIZI.

What you need to know:

Indebted. The government has this financial year paid Shs120b to people and companies who won cases against it. Next financial year, it plans to pay out Shs140b over the same issue, out of an outstanding total of Shs357b.

The government has an outstanding bill of Shs357.8b owed to individuals and organisations that won cases against it, the Ministry of Finance has said. In the coming financial year, the ministry says the government plans to pay out Shs140b of this amount.

The figure was higher and the government has been putting aside huge amounts of money to pay off the awardees, with Shs120b made available to pay court awards in the current financial year.
This information was provided by Mr Lawrence Ssemakula, the Accountant General of Government, who is based at the Ministry of Finance, while appearing before the parliamentary Committee on Finance on Wednesday.

The creditors
The Shs357b is owed to 35 individuals and companies, a full list of which Sunday Monitor has obtained.
When some of the claimants are not paid, the Account General informed Parliament, they apply for garnishee orders [a third party who is instructed by way of legal notice to surrender money to settle a debt or claim] from court allowing them to attach accounts of the government entities that owe them the awards. Fourteen accounts belonging to government agencies have had their accounts garnisheed as a result of non-payment of court awards, and we have seen the full list.

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), National Forestry Authority (NFA), National Agricultural Advisory Services (Naads), Uganda Law Council (ULC) and the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG) are some of the government agencies whose accounts have been garnisheed.

About some big awards
Southern Range Nyanza Limited - Shs33.3b
Southern Range Nyanza Ltd is demanding Shs33.3b after securing an order of mandamus [a judicial writ issued as a command to an inferior court or ordering a person to perform a public or statutory duty] from the Executions and Bailiffs Division of the High Court on November 18, 2016. The company successfully sued the Attorney General, the Secretary to Treasury, and, Treasury officer of accounts.

The order of mandamus was issued by Lady Justice Flavia Senoga Anglin. At the time the order was issued, the amount due was Shs8.9b and has since accumulated interest. Costs of the suit have also been added to make a total amount due of Shs33.3b.

However, Sunday Monitor did not establish the facts of the original suit, but information available indicates that the company entered into a consent judgment with the Commissioner General of Uganda Revenue Authority and the Attorney General on January 29, 2016. It is this consent judgment that the government had not honoured before an order of mandamus was issued months later.

Sheema Cooperative Ranching Society - Shs18.8b
This company and 31 others won a civil suit against government in the Lands Division of the High Court. The case was under Civil Suit number 103 of 2010. The Attorney General was the defendant in the case that government lost.

According to the court documents seen by this newspaper, the Sheema Cooperative Ranching Society, who were the registered proprietors of the various pieces of leasehold land comprised in the Ankole-Masaka Ranching Scheme, floored the Attorney General in a land matter concerning the forceful acquisition of land by a General Presidential Notice No. 182 of 1990.

Following the notice, the government established the Ranch Restructuring Board, whose mandate, among others, was to forcefully confiscate, acquire and take over the land, and redistribute it to other people unknown and unrelated to Cooperative Society. The judgment was passed by Justice Rubby Aweri Opio on February 27, 2013, who awarded the plaintiffs damages and costs.

Amatos Mwebeiha - Shs40.1b
The money was awarded following a land case Mr Mwebeiha won against the Attorney General in civil suit no. 822 of 2015.
This was after government lost the case in a judgment delivered by Justice Andrew Bashaija K. on September 10, 2015.

Court awarded Shs9.2b as compensation for Mr Mwebeiha after it was found that government forcefully acquired his land comprised in Busiro Block 351, Plot Numbers 49,309,353,356,357,358,364,404,598 and 600 land at Buddo. Court also awarded costs of the suit. The money has accumulated interest over the years

Stephen B Rwehura & 1096 others - Shs10.7b
The case was registered in 1995, according to the Auditor General’s report of 2016. In the report on the financial statements of Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs for the year ended June 30, 2016, the auditors were concerned that in this case, the original amount awarded by court was Shs13.1b, attracting an interest of 6 per cent rate. At the time of the audit, it had accumulated to Shs17.4b.

However, according to the document we have seen in which the Ministry of Finance lists the 35 orders of mandamus yet to be honoured, the government now owes Rwehura and others Shs10.7b.

Kamuswaga of Kooki - Shs59.1b
The Kooki cultural leader, Kamuswaga Apollo Sansa Kabumbuli II, sued the central government for allegedly confiscating his chiefdom’s land.

The land is marked block 17 in Lubaga Division, Block 32 plot number 62 in Mutundwe and block 34 plots 1, 2 and 3 found in Nabbingo, in Wakiso District.

In the case, filed in the High Court’s Lands Division on October 10, 2014, Kabumbuli said his chiefdom lost the land in 1966, when the Milton Obote government abolished kingdoms and chiefdoms and confiscated their assets. Through Bashasha and Company Advocates, Kamuswaga demanded Shs70b and damages. It is not clear how the court awarded the cultural leader Shs59.1b instead of the demanded Shs70b.

Prof Ephraim Kamuntu - Shs4.4b
Prof Ephraim Kamuntu, the current Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, sued the government under Civil Suit No. 38 of 2016, demanding compensation for his land comprised in LRV 1166, Folio 2, situate and known as Ranch No. 33, Ankole Ranching Scheme.

A judgment on admission was entered in favour of Prof Kamuntu for Shs3.2b being the amount of compensation for the value of the suit land.
On February 9, 2017, Justice Bashaija K. Andrew issued the order of mandamus to Prof Kamuntu. In the order, he awarded the minister Shs200m in general damages and this would attract interest at a rate of 23 per cent.

Court also awarded the minister intermediate profit of Shs2.5b, which would attract interest rate of 8 per cent from 1990 when the land was taken untill payment in full.