Business
Kiggundu Vows to open own Bank
Hamis Kigundu and Presient Yoweri Kagut aMuseveni
Kampala’s mysteriously rich billionaire Hamis Kiggundu has warned Ugandans to not be surprised when he opens his own bank.
Kiggundu asked Ugandans to support him to recover over UGX120 billion that Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) allegedly illegally seized.
Kiggundu argues that the process of obtaining loans is very cumbersome because majority of the banks in the country are owned by foreigners and hence have no regard to the interests and challenges of Ugandans.
But Ham’s fiery comments about the banking sector in Uganda come in the wake of his battle with DTB for seizing his money.
The proprietor of Ham Enterprises, Kiggundu claims that DTB confiscated money to the tune of UGX 120bn from his accounts without his consent and approval. Ham revealed this while speaking to journalist on the sidelines of a court hearing in which he appeared with his lawyers in search for justice and a refund of his billions.
According to the young billionaire, DTD took US$24million from his dollar account with the bank and UGX28 billion making a total of UGX120 billion.
The bank has refuted accusations of misconduct and illegally taking Ham’s money. DTB says that the businessman has defaulted on several loans worth millions of dollars. It is against this that they seized his money and have threatened to auction his collateral security which includes his properties in Kawuku near Bbunga, and two properties in Kampala business district including the mega Ham towers opposite Makerere main gate.
Recently the High Court Commercial division ordered the Uganda Institute of Certified Auditors to appoint an independent audit firm to establish who owes who. The judge said the audit report will court in determining the case. The judge ordered each party to pay 50% of the audit cost.
DTB has received support from its umbrella body the Uganda Bankers Association, who’ve dismissed Kiggundu’s rant as ill-placed and aimed at tarnishing the reputation of Uganda’s banks.
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