By Spy Uganda
Kampala: Engineer George William Kiyega has accused DFCU Bank of engaging in fraudulent and illegal transactions involving his land titles.
According to court documents, Kiyega’s property, located on plot 7347 block 265, was the subject of a transaction where instrument No. Kla. 565080 was removed using a mortgage deed dated January 4, 2013 for a loan of 240 million Ugandan shillings.
Kiyega claims that the transaction was fraudulent and in protest, he wrote to the Bank of Uganda but after more than a decade, the matter remains unresolved as Bank of Uganda says it is still monitoring the situation.
The dispute stems from a loan arrangement Kiyega made with DFCU Bank in 2009. He claims he deposited his land titles with the bank for two reasons: one to secure a business loan and the other for safe custody.
The land titles in question are part of a property in Ssabagabo, Kyadondo which Kiyega says he entrusted to DFCU Bank. In 2014, Kiyega took on a project under the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) and approached the bank to request additional facilities for the project which required performance guarantees amounting to 10% of the contract value.
Kiyega alleges that despite fulfilling the contract requirements to the satisfaction of his employer, DFCU Bank failed to support him adequately, even as he applied for another business loan of 200 million shillings under his company, Will’s International Engineers and Contractors Limited.
He secured the loan with the same land titles in addition to another loan facility of 220 million Ugandan shillings. Despite having met all the conditions and servicing his loans, Kiyega later started receiving letters from DFCU bank threatening to sell his property.
Kiyega says he detected suspicious activity when he reviewed the documents related to his land and discovered what he described as “fraudulent transactions’’ and after failed attempts to resolve the issue amicably, he filed a civil suit against DFCU Bank.
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However, court instead ordered him to pay back 210 million shillings within 30 days, which he managed to do with the help of a fellow engineer. He was also directed to pay 50% of an alleged outstanding amount, which he disputes as being related to a performance guarantee.
The case was eventually taken to the Court of Appeal, where Kiyega says the ruling was in his favor and court ordered DFCU Bank to remove all encumbrances on the disputed property and pay for damages related to the fraudulent and illegal mortgages.
Despite the court ruling, Kiyega says that DFCU bank has continued to delay the process and he is yet to receive the full justice he seeks.
In his attempts to seek justice, Kiyega also wrote to Bank of Uganda appealing for its intervention but he says central bank has yet to address his concerns adequately, with the case still unresolved after more than ten years.
