The Court of Appeal has confirmed that it will deliver its final judgement on Ham Enterprises versus Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) case today Wednesday at 12pm.
Between February 2011 and September 2016, businessesman Hamis Kiggundu alias Ham claimed that his two companies acquired loans from DTB Uganda and DTB Kenya and deposited commercial properties as security. However, along the way, the banks did not remit the full amount but deducted it from his accounts in purported repayment.
When he inquired, the two banks denied any breach of contract and said the loans were duly taken by the businessman’s companies and the deductions from his bank accounts were lawful and for repayment of the credit facilities.
This forced Ham Enterprises in January 2020 to dragged Diamond Trust Bank Uganda and Kenya to Court for fraudulently debiting over Shs120b from their Shillings and Dollar accounts. The Banks having failed to refund the unlawfully debited monies from the company’s accounts, Ham Enterprises instituted legal action against the Bank for recovery of the same. But Diamond Trust Bank responded by alleging the demand of Shs 39Billion and asking the court to Impose regulation 13 that was just smuggled into the mortgage act onto Ham Enterprises.
However, in his ruling on the dispute last year in October, the High Court Judge of Commercial Division Justice Henry Peter Adonyo declared that DTB Kenya is not licensed to conduct financial business in Uganda and therefore the credit facilities granted to Ham Enterprises were irregular, null and void.
Adonyo added that DTB Uganda acting as a collecting agent for DTB Kenya contravened the Financial Institutions Act and Agent Bank regulations.
However, DTB Uganda and Kenya filed a notice of appeal challenging the Commercial Court decision directing them to refund 120 Billion Shillings to Ham Enterprises.
“Take notice that Diamond Trust Bank Uganda Limited and Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Limited the above-named defendants being dissatisfied with the Judgement and order by Honorable Dr. Justice Henry Peter Adonyo delivered on October 7, 2020, intend to appeal against the whole decision to the court of Appeal” reads the notice in part.
And on 27th January 2021, Court of Appeal begun the hearing of the case and the ruling is expected to take place today.
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