Bassajjabalaba 142 Billion UGX City Market Refund case in Supreme Court cleared

Uganda’s Supreme Court in Kampala has overturned a landmark Constitutional Court decision that had ordered tycoon Hassan Basajjabalaba and his companies to refund billions of shillings in compensation for terminated city market contracts, ruling that the petition was filed in the wrong court and involved contested facts outside the Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction. Between 2000 and 2011, Kampala City Council (KCC) granted Basajjabalaba-linked firms — Haba Group, Sheila Investments, Victoria International, and First Merchant International Trading — leases to manage Nakasero, St. Balikuddembe (Owino), Shauri Yako, and Nakawa markets, as well as Constitutional Square. When KCC later cancelled the deals citing irregularities, the companies sought compensation. 

The government settled their claims through payments and loan guarantees worth over Shs 142 billion ($37 million), facilitated by Bank of Uganda and commercial banks. In 2012, rights watchdog Legal Brains Trust petitioned the Constitutional Court, arguing the contracts were unconstitutional because they lacked the Attorney General’s approval under Article 119(5) of the Constitution, and alleging fraud in the compensation process. 

In 2020, the Constitutional Court, by 3-2 majority, agreed, nullified the contracts, and ordered the Attorney General to recover the payouts. Read full article on ChimpReports