Contractor, pharmaceutical investor fight over Shs4b debt

A construction company has written to the Criminal Investigations Department of the police to investigate and prosecute a pharmaceutical company that allegedly asked them to construct a multibillion pharmaceutical company but didn’t pay them. 

According to an October 14  letter, Mutoni construction company avers that Matthias Magoola, through his company, Dei Natural Products International Ltd, in March 2020, approached them, seeking their services to construct a Shs9.6b pharmaceutical factory in Matugga industrial park, stating that government was going to service the project. 

“He (Magoola) claimed that government was going to pay for the said project and we do suspect the said payment could have been given/paid to him but decided to divert the same to his personal use and as such, we hereby, request for the same to be investigated,” the complaint to police reads in part. 

The construction company further claims that after completion of the construction works, using their own money, they handed it to Mr Magoola but he has since refused to pay them. 

The construction company told police and arbitration court that they are demanding more than Shs4billion.  

“Since this is a foreign company that is duly registered here and operating its main office in Kireka and the director being a foreigner, a one Iain Dunbar from South Africa, it’s at this point that after construction, we used our own money and handed over the premises to the said Magoola Matthias, he is now enjoying the same without payment and whenever we try to demand for payment, he threatens us with arrest and deportation,” Mutoni construction company avers. 

Adding: “Immediately we finished the construction, Mr Magoola Matthias decided to deploy local defence units (LDUs) at the premises and we cannot get access even to serve him with a demand notice. Therefore, we are unlawfully being harassed by the LDUs to the extent that we fear for our lives. We have opted to request for your intervention before the said .....can arrest and deport our directors just as the President said one time that some people lure foreigners to come to Uganda .....but threaten them with arrest and deportation.” 

Efforts to reach out to Mr Magoola were futile as he didn’t answer our repeated phone calls last evening. 

However, Dei Natural Products International in its defence during arbitration process, claimed to have paid in full all the money that Mutoni construction company was demanding from them. The contractor has since refuted the claims and petitioned CIP to prosecute Mr Magoola.

Mr Magoola met the President and former Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga in 2020 and promised to manufacture a spray that would kill coronavirus. 

He told the President that he had teamed up with an American professor, Safraz Njaz, to make the dream come true. 
Mr Magoola had also promised that the sanitizer would be co-produced by his Dei group.   

Mr Charles Twine, the CID spokesperson, asked the complainant to petition a civil court for remedy and explained that as CID they can only investigate the extent of the alleged threats by the LDUs as cited in the letter.