Court orders UMEME to pay UGX 350m in damages to Kasese company

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT | Court has directed Umeme Limited to pay 350 million Shillings to Kasese Nail and Wood Industry Limited as compensation for its property which was lost when a fire broke out from two poorly laid power cables at the company premises.

The fire broke out on December 12, 2015, destroying the factory premises in Kasese. But according to company managers, a report by police in the aftermath attributed the fire to a short circuit resulting from contact between the power line and the metal roof.

Documents shared on Monday indicate that the matter was brought to the attention of the utility firm which sent its teams to inspect the place. Upon acknowledging the error, Umeme offered to refer their claim of 441 million Shillings to their head office in Kampala for compensation. 

But on February 29, 2016, UMEME informed the company that their claim had been forwarded to the insurer for consideration. However, this was reversed in March 2017 when UMEME wrote back to them denying that they had erected the wires without consent and instead said the company premises had been erected under the power lines.

But, Kasese Nail and wood maintained that the company had been in place since 1986 yet UMEME connected the wires in the 1990’s long after the company premises were occupied. The management of the construction company then run to court in 2017 when negotiations with UMEME hit a snag. 

In her ruling, Justice Lydia Mugambe of the civil division of the high court said UMEME negligently left live wires to run across the factory with no insulation and therefore should pay for the destruction of the property and insulate all wires across the country to avoid similar accidents. The penalty will attract an annual interest of 15 per cent until full payment is made.

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