Nubians endure pain as accounts remain frozen

Brig. Ali Fadhul (L) is assisted to walk. He is among thousands of Nubians whose accounts were frozen. COURTESY PHOTO.

What you need to know:

Accounts were frozen after the 1979 fall of Idi Amin but efforts by beneficiaries to access money from the accounts have been in vain.

Kampala

Donning a neatly-tucked checkered red shirt, Bashir Khamis’ figure is that of a frustrated man. As Khamis narrates the ordeal he went through in an attempt to access four frozen accounts of his late father Col Safi Khamis, fatigue can be clearly seen on his face.

Mr Khamis’s frustration is shared by more than 1,300 Nubians whose accounts were frozen by the Uganda National Liberation Front government between 1979 and 1984. Most of the beneficiaries have since died, having wallowed in poverty with lack of access to medical care.

Following a 1979 Constitutional Petition, Dr Apollo Obote, who become president and Minister of Finance, made legal notices which authorised various commercial banks to freeze accounts of Nubian individuals and corporations.

To make matters worse, the money was transferred from their accounts and deposited on the Treasury Bills account of Bank of Uganda, meaning government has been earning interest on the money since 1979.
A March 31, 1982 letter from the Director Bank Supervision, BoU, to the Managing Director of the now defunct Libyan Arab Bank (LAB) directed that the money be invested “in Treasury Bill under the name of ‘Miscellaneous Bank Customer’”.

The process
The LAB responded saying: “This matter [of the frozen accounts] was closed in our books when you transferred the frozen accounts to your custody for investment of the related funds in the Treasury Bills.”
The fight to de-freeze the accounts started with an approach to the then Finance Minister Mayanja Nkangi, who responded in the affirmative.

In a letter copied to then Deputy Prime Minister, Eriya Kategaya, the State Minister for Luweero Triangle, and all commercial banks that hosted the accounts, Mr Nkangi requested that: “All Management of commercial banks that have such accounts [should] de-freeze them. However, it is not possible to exempt the above accounts from the 1987 Currency Reform Action.”

However, despite the minister’s request, the beneficiaries were unable to access the money as commercial banks failed to access the money from BoU. Seeing no light at the end of the tunnel, the Nubian community petitioned the Constitutional Court, seeking release of their money.

The Constitutional Court ruled that: “The legal notices [that the freezing of the accounts based on] are no longer in force.” Following the ruling, BoU informed the banks to collect the money. However, according to a petition before Parliament, the hope was dashed as the Secretary to the Treasury refused to clear the payments, claiming the matter was “time barred”.

When contacted, Dr Jan Tibamwenda, the head of communications at BoU, said he had submitted the subject to the relevant department for cross-checking, adding that “the information was put in archives”. The Nubian community consequently sought audience of President Museveni, who directed that: “Unless you [Attorney General & Finance Ministry] can justify the legality of the act [of freezing the accounts], I hereby direct that you consult with the Governor, BoU, to come up with an appropriate modality that expeditiously compensates the affected persons.”

Despite Mr Museveni’s directive, no efforts have been made to de-freeze the accounts.
Mr Tamale Mirundi, the president’s spokesperson, urged the Nubian community to report back to the President, if they still feel aggrieved. “President Museveni is not Amin, he works through institutions and no institution can disrespect a Presidential directive,” he said.

The Nubian community had staked hopes in Lt Gen Moses Ali, who was part of the beneficiaries, to help in de-freezing the accounts. However, since Gen Ali defected to government side, he has been of little help.

Suspicion, more wait
Suspicion now lingers among the Nubian community that Gen Ali used government connections to de-freeze only his account, leaving his folks mired in despair. Efforts to get a comment from Gen Ali were futile as he declined discussing what he called “a lengthy matter” on phone. However, he could not be reached physically as he said he was flying abroad for a week.

With the future looking gloom, the Nubian community has now petitioned Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises for redress.