Court attaches Alebtong district vehicle over Shs 43 million debt

Court bailiffs have attached a vehicle belonging to Alebtong district over a Shs 43 million debt arising out of a breach of contract with Tomsan (U) Limited. 

Lira’s Magistrate’s court ordered the district to pay Tomsan to cover the cost of its contract to repair district vehicles in the financial year 2019/20 and 2020/21. It is alleged that the district declined to clear the payment under the pretext that the repairs were not well executed.

According to the consent settlement, the sum should have been paid in two equal instalments with the first instalment expected on or before October 30 2023, and the second on or before February 28, 2024.

A warrant issued by magistrate Samson Abiti Loum listed two district vehicles; registration numbers LG-00066-004 and LG-0005-004 for attachment and eventual sale if the district fails to comply with consent settlement. 

The first vehicle to be attached was reg. no. LG-00066-004 Toyota Hilux which was being used by the district chairperson David Kennedy Odongo. It was attached from around Lira UPDF Barracks in Lira city when the chairperson was on his way to the district. In a telephone interview, Odongo explained that the district had not budgeted for such costs.

Relating to similar scenarios in other districts across the sub-region, Odongo accused the court of conniving with both the plaintiff and defendant’s legal firms to rip money from the district.

“We’re now seeing connivance. Court is conniving with the bailiff, and not only the bailiff, but even the firms that take the district to court connive with the court people, even the lawyers that the district hires connive with the firms, and with the court because after the attachment is done, money is paid there is sharing of money. So it is very hard for the district to win any case in court. And when they’re awarding the costs, they put it on the upper side because, the higher they put it, the more money they will get. This is at the expense of service delivery because for us now to pay this, we need to cut costs, we need to forfeit other planned activities,” Odongo.

George Atyam, assistant director at Tomsan believes that the district intentionally refused to pay them and that the second vehicle will soon be attached as well.