Zzimwe family given more time to clear debt

By Chris Kiwawulo           
 
The trustees to the estate of the late Andrew Kasagga popularly known as Zzimwe have secured more time from the creditors to allow the family to clear its debt, a reliable source has revealed.
 
According to the source, Zzimwe estate trustees including tycoon Hajji Umar Mandela, former finance minister Gerald Sendaula and army commander Gen. Katumba Wamala, moved in to negotiate with Tropical Bank to stop the auctioning of the property.

The bank, according to the source, has allowed the family some more time to clear the debt.
 
Land and property worth billions of shillings that the fallen businessman had used as collateral to borrow money had been put up for sale on September 10, with an ultimatum of 21 working days for the family to pay up or lose the property.
 
According to sources, the advertised property comprises about 70% of the Zzimwe estate including the family house where he was buried and were all valued at about sh15b.
 
“At the time Zzimwe died, the bank was demanding over sh4b from the estate. But as of today, the family owes the bank slightly over sh2b,” the source revealed.
 
When contacted on phone, Zzimwe’s heir and manager of his late father’s estate, Paul Kasagga, confirmed that the family trustees had negotiated with the bank and the decision to auction the properties was reversed.

Zzimwe’s stone quarry in Mukono is among the properties being auctioned.

“We have been paying and we are still paying. That is why the bank agreed to give us more time to settle our indebtedness,” Paul said, but he declined to reveal the grace period that the bank gave them.
 
He also told New Vision that they had since the death of Zzimwe cleared all the individual creditors and that none of the properties had been attached.
 
When contacted, Ada Wegulo, the Tropical Bank legal secretary declined to pronounce herself on the matter. But she neither denied nor confirmed the extension of the timeframe within which the debt would be paid.
 
Aged 63, Zzimwe collapsed on his bed in May 2010 and died before reaching hospital.

Believed to have amassed wealth up to a tune of about sh20b mainly in the construction industry, Zzimwe battled pancreatic cancer for years before he met his death.
 
Eleven pieces of land measuring 261.788 acres in Kampala, Mukono and Masaka districts, some of which have buildings on them had been advertised for auctioning.