Makerere University sued for Ugx 2Billion over gowns

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |   A company contracted by Makerere University to supply graduation gowns for their students is in court seeking to recover more than two billion shillings in arrears.

The company -Team Uniform Limited- has filed its suit at the Commercial Division of High Court through its lawyers of Marlin Advocates.

The company contends that on December 22 2015, it was contacted for a period of three years to supply customized graduation gowns each at 90,000 Shillings inclusive of a ten percent fee for the University on each gown supplied for the 67th up to 70th graduation ceremony.  In line with the contract terms, the company reportedly started the process of production of graduation gowns for the 67th ceremony.

However, for the 67th and 68th ceremonies, the company was allegedly required to sell the gowns directly to the students and later remit the proceeds equivalent to 10 percent as a commission to the university. But the university allegedly allowed its students to purchase counterfeit or uncustomised gowns from Wandegeya vendors and others from Makerere University staff thereby undermining the company’s sales.

As if this was not enough, Makerere University also towards the 69th Graduation ceremony without consent of the company reportedly changed the mode of payment for gowns where by it put the fees for the gowns into graduation fees.

Here, the court documents indicate that it became the duty of the university to collect the monies from gowns made by Team Uniform Limited, retain or deduct a ten percent fee and remit the balance to the company within 30 days after the graduation ceremony.

However, the company says that for the previous ceremonies due to the University’s actions of allowing the students to purchase the University gowns from their staff and Wandegeya vendors, on the 68th graduation ceremony out of the required 13,000 gowns they only sold 4,000 gowns leaving 9,000 gowns unsold due to cheaper “counterfeit” gowns.

“The gowns were customized for Makerere University, serialized and custom built for a particular year and therefore making it hard or impossible to recycle or resale the unsold ones in the subsequent functions”, reads Team Uniform’s suit in part.  

As a result of the said conduct of the University, the company alleges that it made a loss of 607 million shillings and in another ceremony when 7,000 gowned were never sold it made a loss of 617 million Shillings.

The company now alleges that even during the 69th ceremony, when it supplied 1,3300 customized gowns, the University was supposed to pay 1.1 billion Shillings but it only paid 700 million shillings.

However, the company says that for the 70th graduation ceremony, the university also paid for 8,847 gowns out of 12,379 gowns that were supplied to it, leaving a balance of 311 million shillings.

Further, the company says it reached an extent of flying to China to get gowns due to limited time that was left towards the graduation hoping to be paid but in vain and it has since suffered financial loss as it is struggling with loans

The company now says that the said conduct of the university in withholding payments for the supplied gowns amounted to breach of contract which has caused financial incapacitation to it and therefore court should force the institution to pay it more than 2 billion shillings in arrears as well as compensation for damages caused to it. 

Makerere University has already been directed to submit its defense within 15 days before hearing can commence.    

In January 2020 at the heated crisis of gowns, Makerere University Management issued a statement threatening to sue Team Uniform Limited  for failure to deliver gowns on time.   

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URN