DRC Case Lawyers Demand Sh738m

Mar 10, 2004

FOREIGN lawyers who defended Uganda in the aggression case filed by the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) at the Hague-based International Court of Justice have asked for sh738m as their fees.

By John Kakande

FOREIGN lawyers who defended Uganda in the aggression case filed by the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) at the Hague-based International Court of Justice have asked for sh738m as their fees.

This was revealed yesterday by Samia Bugwe North MP Aggrey Awori while appearing before the committee on legal and parliamentary affairs which is investigating reasons why the Government is losing a big number of court cases.

Awori submitted on a number of cases in which the Government has paid astronomical amounts of money.

He said he suspected that the losses were due to collusion between finance ministry officials, lawyers from the Attorney General’s chambers and private advocates.

In one of the cases relating to the Swiss Procurement Company (SWIPCO) contract, the Government paid sh2.9b.

Awori said the sh2.9b was given to the American Procurement Company (Amproc) which claimed to have taken over SWIPCO’s procurement contracts.

He argued that Amproc was owned by people whose relatives are “well connected in the system” and included James Kahooza, the former auditor general.

In another case, Awori said the Government is supposed to incur £120,000 in damages to a Briton for failure to pay £7,000 for a computer purchased by the Uganda High Commission in London in 1996.

Awori cited yet another sh1.3b court case between the Non-Performing Assets Recovery Trust (NPART) and a private company.
He said finance ministry officials were suspiciously pressurising NPART lawyers not to appeal against the award to the company.
He did not name the company.

In the Congo case, Awori read a letter written by the Solicitor General, L. Tibaruha to the Secretary to the Treasury, requesting him to pay urgently the outstanding arrears amounting to sh738, 893,376 to foreign lawyers contracted to defend Uganda at the International Court.

According to the letter, the government contracted three law firms for the case. They include Foley Hogg of USA, which is asking for $233,760; Eric Suy of Belgium owed $92,960 and Theodore Chistakis of France owed 14,752.00 Euro.

Awori argued that information available to him showed government had forgotten all about the lawyers.
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