BoU ready for defense in former Crane Bank employees suit

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Bank of Uganda says that it is ready to defend the termination of the contracts of former employees of Crane Bank.

Last month, 400 former employees of Crane Bank through their lawyer Isaac Ssemakadde wrote a statutory notice to Bank of Uganda demanding 120 million Shillings each, following the termination of their contracts. The 400 former Crane Bank employees are represented by ten of their former workmates.

They are Catherine Kate Achan, Teddy Akullo, Janet Mector Angwena, Mactose Arinaitwe, Edward Bukenya, Dianah Loy Kiwumulo, Abbey Mivule, Benjamin Muchwa, Robert Mwanje, and Emmanuel Ngororan.

The former employees argued that on January 27, 2017 Bank of Uganda informed the public that it had transferred and conveyed the assets and liabilities of Crane Bank to DFCU Bank Limited.

According to the former employees, DFCU then wrote a memo to its entire staff to the effect that several employees’ contracts would be collectively terminated immediately.

Bank of Uganda was given up to December 2018 to have paid 48 billion Shillings to the former employees for breach of contract or else face legal action for damages and inconveniences caused to them.

However, according to the letter written by the Governor Bank of Uganda, Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile and addressed to the lawyers of the former employees, the contracts were terminated in line with the law and the bank is ready to defend itself in court.

“This is to advise contrary to the allegations, in the aforementioned notice, the collective termination of former Crane Bank Limited was done in accordance with the law”, reads Mutebile’s letter in part.

The letter dated November 26 also adds that “the bank is therefore ready to defend itself should you consider taking legal action”.

Mutebile’s response comes at the time when Bank of Uganda is being queried by Parliament for the closure of more than six banks that have failed since 1993.

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