Court Sorts Out MTN, UTL Sh5.7b Row

By Yunusu Abbey THE Commercial Court yesterday resolved the dispute between Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) and MTN Uganda over non-payment of a sh5.7b debt for inter-connection fees. Lady Justice Stella Arach gave a consent judgement yesterday after the two parties agreed on the payment terms.Under the agreement, UTL said it would pay the sh5.7b debt in 12 instalments starting July 31, 2002. UTL owes MTN Uganda a total of sh5, 772,609,159 as inter-connection ties for April 1999 to March 2001. UTL had initially made a similar repayment proposal.Didas Nkurunziza, who represented UTL, said his clients would pay sh481m per month, till June 30, 2003 when the debt is cleared.Former Attorney General Bart Katureebe, a partner in Kampala Associated Advocates, stood in counsel for MTN Uganda. But the two parties were yet to agree on the interest accrued.Justice Arach’s ruling ends the protracted dispute between the two leading mobile phone operators, UTL and MTN Uganda, which hit headlines three months ago.In April this year, MTN, which started cellular phone operations in Uganda in October 1998, had filed a civil suit against UTL demanding sh5.7b for inter-connection fees.Inter connection occurs when a client calls from one network to another. For instance, when an MTN subscriber calls a UTL Mango line, a fee is charged. Ends