Mutooni Construction ltd, a partnership between local, and South African businessmen has petitioned President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to intervene in a row between them and city businessman Prof. Mathias Magoola arising from a Shs4 billion non payment incident.
Magoola became a ‘celebrity’ in the early days of 2020 when he paraded an American inventor, Prof. Safraz K. Niaz, with the backing of then Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga that together, they had invented a COVID-19 cure that would sell the country internationally.
Although the deal would later turn out to be a complete hoax and attracted ridicule for Kadaga, Magoola, under his Dei natural Products ltd would continue to grow his new found favors in the eyes of the President, and so is partly how he came to earn himself over 100 acres of land in the Matugga industrial park for his pharmaceutical endeavors.
Under the deal, Dei Natural products was to manufacture anti malarial drugs and vaccines for the East African market, and so is how Kenyan Deputy President Somei Ruto found himself at the company’s ground breaking ceremony in the middle of this year.
As part of its long term expansion plans, over four mega structures were to be erected to facilitate the production, and storage requirements of the establishment. This is how Mutooni Construction ltd, a joint venture between a one Ugandan Hakim Ssemuwemba, and his South African partners got contracted to erect one of the structures at shs6 billion.
Under the same arrangement, Santiago Y Lauren Architects (SYL) was hired as consultants and supervisors of the project, acting as intermediaries between Magoola, and the contractor- Mutooni Construction ltd.
As the project progressed towards completion, however, appeals by the contractor for payments for the work done from Magoola resistively fell on deaf ears, prompting them to seek redress from an arbitration court.
Already choking on debts from a wide range of angry creditors from whom materials such as sand, cement, and iron bars used to do the work were got on credit, the contractor reveals that all efforts to recoup the money from an indifferent Magoola has been nothing but a nightmare.
Threatened by constant threats from their creditors, the South African partners in Mutooni Construction desperately tried to secure an audience with the President, only for their efforts to be frustrated on account of Magoola’s thick connections in government.
They then resorted to Col. Nakalema’s Anti Corruption Unit to help call Magoola to order but the endeavors met a sad fate akin to the ones before. Nakalema, its been reported also was not willing to risk antagonizing the powerful Magoola lest she bruises her relationship with the ‘aboves’.
Through their lawyers of Kyagaba & Otaliina Advocates, the aggrieved firm are seeking the payment of up to Shs4.1 billion which includes money for work done, the resultant VAT obligations, plus the accruing interest.
Magoola Speaks Out
Through his Lawyers of JOSKA Advocates, Magoola accuses Mutooni Constructions of failing to deliver the job within the 4 months’ time as it had been agreed. That the construction which was expected to be completed in February 2021 stalled for way too long, occasioning a lot of financial loss, in the process to his business. That plenty of pharmaceutical equipment (won’t disclose details) had been imported and had to be expensively stored for more than over a year as he waited on the contractor to finish the job. He also asserts that it was a blunder and an illegality for Mutooni Construction officials to turn themselves into project managers yet that was never their mandate under the contract.
That the invoices the contractor claims to have tendered were to come through the project manager or consultant who wasn’t in place after the departure of SYL Architects Ltd.
Magoola adds that following the exit of SYL Architects Ltd, he contracted a quantity surveyor whose verification report indicated that Mutooni Construction had actually been overpaid by over Shs70m implying its them to pay him back some money that was undeservedly paid to them as opposed to them claiming over Shs4bn. The lawyers also indicate that more than Shs800m Mutooni Construction is demanding for in VAT refunds is a sham claim because their client Magoola was VAT-exempt since his pharmaceutical business in Matugga falls in those business undertakings that are excused of VAT-related obligations.
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