By Peter Ssebulime
Beverages International has sued the Attorney General William Bryahuanga and Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) over a directive issued by the Ministry of Trade banning the packaging of alcoholic drinks in sachets
Beverages International, the Manufacturers of Beckam Gin, through their lawyers of Muhumuza and Company Advocates, are challenging part of the May 15th directive issued by the Minister for Trade, Amelia Kyambadde, banning all sachets with effect from March 31st, 2019 and instead use plastic or glass bottles of 200 milliliters (mls) minimum.
They revealed in their affidavits that in 2009 a similar directive was passed by government ordering a manufacturer to pack such alcohol in sachets but to their surprise another ban has come in 2019, yet the packaging requires heavy investments to acquire machines to do the job and government does not support them in any way.
As a result, they want the high court commercial division to declare that the said directive is irrational and unfair to them and should therefore be quashed.
However, both the Attorney General and the UNBS are yet to give their response in the matter
