The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Hearing of a case in which city businessman and former treasurer of NRM Entrepreneurs’ League, Arvind Patel sued the ruling party over a debt of sh5.4billion, has failed to take off today.
Patel says he borrowed the money, and gave it to the NRM to cleanup the party register in 2010.
Patel’s lawyer Allen Kagoya from Muwema, Mugerwa and Company Advocates informed CommercialCcourt Judge David Wangutusi that efforts to serve the NRM party with the court’s hearing notice has on several occasions yielded no fruit, as their service has been ignored by their lawyers since 2014 when the case was filed. The NRM lawyers from Kandeebe and Company Advocates did not even bother to show up in court or send an explanation.
They say even efforts to have the matter settled out of court failed since the NRM party is not cooperative.
Justice Wangutusi adjourned the matter to April 25, 2017, and directed that Patel should serve the NRM party and file the party’s response with court, since none of his claims against Kandeebe were evident on the court file.
The judge also noted that if the party refuses, then other methods will be imposed or have the case proceed exparte.
Patel filed the case in 2014 after several meetings with NRM high ranking officials to have him settled, did not yield any fruit.
He argues that between February and July 2010 some officials of the NRM political party including Nina Kemigisha Mbabazi who were tasked with the computerization and cleanup register approached him for money to facilitate the party register exercise, and he gave them sh600m which the party had to pay back in December 2011 with interest of 15%.
However due to failure by the NRM party to re-imburse his money, Arvind Patel chose to petition court to compel the ruling party pay him.
****
editor@independent.co.ug
