South African firm sues govt

Jul 11, 2013

Uganda may lose undisclosed sums of money in a South African case filed against a South Africa based Ugandan investor, Harrison Busingye.

By Patrick Jaramogi
 
Uganda may lose undisclosed sums of money in a South African case filed against a South Africa based Ugandan investor, Harrison Busingye.
 
Busingye a shareholder, and former director of Hydraform International PTY who recently won a South African High Court case against Hydraform in an ex-parte ruling in which the defendant (Hydraform) had wanted to attach his shares until the end of a  case in which he is being arraigned before the same High Court of Gauteng over  a suit in which he  allegedly offended the  Government of Uganda.
 
The application is premised on the grounds that Busingye the respondent with shares totaling 5.6 percent of Hydraform is "peregrinus" in South Africa and is not "incola" of the S. African high court.
 
Hydraform accuses Busingye of abusing their patent and copyrights, using the Hydraform logo and name while conducting business  in Uganda.
 
They acknowledge that the respondent represented the interests of Hydraform for many years in East Africa and beyond.
 
The defendants allege that the respondent breached the framework agreement between Hydraform and Office of the Prime Minister when he decided to antagonize Flavia Waduwa U/s and Pius Bigirimana, a former permanent  secretary.
 
"The respondent offended Hydraform major client (Government of Uganda)," notes the suit.
 
The suit indicates that by traveling to northern Uganda and addressing trainees without express permission of the Permanent Secretary, the respondent breached the agreement.
 
In a communication seen by this reporter, Pius wrote to Hydraform demanding that relationship between the respondent and Hydraform be severed or they lose business.
 
The Director Legal and Advisory Services Office of the Solicitor General  Christopher Gashirabake told New Vision that winning that case would be “hard’. “It is true that Government of Uganda had a memorandum of Understanding with Hydraform International but I don’t think it is true that the contract (MOU) was breached. What I recall is that Flavia Waduwa (Undersecretary OPM) who was in charge of the project had some misunderstanding with Harrison Busingye one of the local agents,” said Gashirabake.
 
He explained that the misunderstandings would have led to the problem “If they have decided to go to court let them go but the truth of the matter is that they will not win because they was no breach and reports are rife that they have continued to supply machines,” he said. Adding: “if they have continued to supply then where is the breach?” Gashirabake noted that the Attorney General would ably defend the Government of Uganda in the suit.
 
Disaster Preparedness state minister Musa Ecweru showed New Vision newly supplied Hydraform machines packed at the Office of the Prime Minister stores along Old Port Bell road in Kampala.
 
When contacted Busingye down played the case as a trick; “Hydraform is simply a conduit; this was engineered at OPM to steal Government money. “As for the MOU, it is all clear but things simply went wrong; I only acted as a whistle blower in a clear case of rampant theft of money and property meant for Northern Uganda.
 
The case is a clear manifestation of Bigirimana’s (former PS OPM) effort to use his office to muzzle resenting voices” Busingye said.
 
Robert Plattner the Managing Director Hydraform International was non-committal when contacted.
 

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