Uganda’s once-untouchable business titan, Patrick Bitature, has been dealt a crushing blow in a legal saga that has sent shockwaves through the nation’s financial and corporate circles.
According to the Daily Monitor, on September 16th, the Commercial Division of the High Court delivered a monumental ruling that left the country’s business community gasping in disbelief.
Presiding over the case with unflinching authority, Justice Harriet Grace Magala dismissed Bitature’s desperate plea to defend a staggering $13 million (approximately Shs48 billion) award to Absa Bank.
The court’s decision, which can only be described as a legal earthquake, not only shattered Bitature’s hopes but also set a bold precedent on the accountability of corporate directors.
Justice Magala accused Bitature of engaging in what she termed “a blatant abuse of the court process,” lambasting his attempt to wriggle out of a consent judgment that he had previously agreed to as the director and guarantor of Electro-Maxx (U) Ltd.
“Mr. Bitature accepted the terms of the consent judgment and even honored part of them. Yet, now he seeks to undo the very agreement he once stood by,” the judge noted with unwavering certainty.
The ruling delivered a scathing rebuke to Bitature’s legal strategy, which was likened to a high-stakes game of corporate chess gone horribly wrong.
“This application is not just unfounded, it is a complete abuse of the court’s time and resources,” the court thundered.
Justice Magala wasted no time in dismissing the businessman’s claims, slapping him with a heavy cost order and entering judgment against him in Civil Suit no. 1190 of 2023.
The fallout from this ruling is expected to reverberate across the country, raising questions about corporate governance and the future of one of Uganda’s most prominent businessmen.
