The High court has ordered six entities convicted in the Katosi road scam to refund Shs 20 billion to Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA).
The no-nonsense head of the Commercial Division of the High court, justice Henry Peter Adonyo ordered businessman Apollo Senkeeto, Timothy McCoy, Richard Pratt, Michael Olvey, Niu Hong and EUTAW Construction Company Incorporated to refund the money after finding them guilty of engaging in an elaborate and complicated scheme to defraud UNRA.
Adonyo noted that evidence available indicates that the non-existing company EUTAW, which had been contracted to do the road construction works worth Shs 24.7 billion, did only works estimated to be at 3 per cent valued at Shs 6 billion. The judge further noted that the fictitious EUTAW, through its purported country representative, Senkeeto after getting a contract, subcontracted a Chinese firm, CICO Construction Corporation which did the said works. Adonyo said it was prudent for the entities to refund the balance of Shs 18.7 billion that was never used for the construction of the road.
Adonyo has also ordered that the six pay to UNRA, general damages of Shs 500 million for inconveniences caused to the authority, punitive damages of Shs 1 billion as well as costs of the suit. He ordered that all the monies attract a ten per cent interest per annum effective today when the judgement was delivered until full payment.
The judgement arises from a September 2016 petition filed by UNRA against the said six entities in the High court. UNRA through its lawyers led by Kenneth Mwebembezi argued that they had signed a contract with EUTAW on November 15, 2013, to upgrade the Mukono-Kyetume-Katosi road.
Court heard that in line with the agreement, UNRA paid Shs 24.7 billion in advance on Senkeeto's account on behalf of the fictitious company which claimed that it was related to the one in the United States of America whereas not.
Accordingly, money was paid in Housing Finance bank and it is the same account that Senkeeto managed with the two Chinese nationals Olvey and Hong with whom they were co-sued. After getting the advance payment, EUTAW being a sham company, then subcontracted a Chinese company, CICO in July 2014 to tarmac the road.
In the circumstances, UNRA discovered that it had been duped by Senkeeto to sign a contract with a non-existing construction firm. At this time, the sub-contractor had done works estimated to have been worth Shs 6.1 billion. Subsequently, UNRA sued the entitles seeking to recover the balance of the money that hadn't been used, and today the judge agreed with them.
In August 2018, Senkeeto was convicted by the Anti-Corruption court together with two others for various offences related to financial loss of Shs 24.7 billion for the Katosi road works and he was personally handed a ten-year jail term.
Senkeeto and his co-convicts were initially charged together with former minister for Works Abraham Byandala, former UNRA director Bernardo Kimeze and former UNRA legal counsel Marvin Baryaruha and former Housing Finance bank staff Isaac Mugote, who were all acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence to prove that they were part of the scam.
Senkeeto was in 2019 released on bail pending an appeal filed before the Court of Appeal on health grounds. The respondents were represented by Senior lawyer Peter Mulira who is yet to confirm if they are going to appeal against the decision or not.
UNRA's lawyer Kenneth Mwebembezi has welcomed the court decision.
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