The Entebbe Municipality Mayor Fabrice Rulinda has confirmed to make an appeal on a High Court Commercial Division ruling that dismissed his case against Stanbic Bank Uganda over a disputed 2017 transaction.
The Commercial court on Monday dismissed a suit filed by Entebbe mayor Fabrice Brad Rulinda against Stanbic Bank Uganda over a disputed deposit of $73,262.50 (about Shs 271 million) linked to the M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In a judgment delivered electronically, Justice Stephen Mubiru ruled that Rulinda could not sustain his claim against the bank, citing the illegality surrounding the transaction.
Court records show that Rulinda operated a dollar account at Stanbic Bank’s Bugolobi Village Mall branch. On August 10, 2017, M/s Green Global Corporation transferred $422,957.50 to his account, followed by an additional $73,262.50 on August 11, 2017.
Justice Mubiru held that Rulinda failed to take reasonable steps to verify the source of the funds and that the circumstances pointed to strong indicators of a criminal origin.
Although the specific underlying offence was not established, the handling of the funds suggested unlawful conduct.
The judge also observed that while Stanbic breached the banking contract by reversing the funds without a court order, the contract itself was unenforceable because it was tainted by illegality.
He cited the legal principle ex turpi causanon oritur actio – meaning no legal action can arise from a dishonourable cause.
Rulinda, through his lawyer Isaac Ssali Mugerwa of Bluebell Legal Advocates, intends to appeal, arguing the High Court overstepped by suggesting money laundering in a civil case without a criminal trial or conviction.
Before the media on Tuesday, 17th March, Mugerwa noted that if Rulinda does not appeal against such a decision, it means that anybody would lose money in a bank, and the bank would have the right to claim that the money was a result of proceeds of crime. Maybe you received it through corruption, theft, or you received the money through witchcraft, and therefore you have no right to sue the bank to recover that money which is wrong.
He also confirmed that Rulinda have no relationship with the said M23 rebels, saying,“In 2017 we did not have as far as I can recollect myself, we did not have M23 rebels, in the DRC. My client is not involved at all with the M23 rebels.”
The appeal will also challenge the bank’s unilateral reversal of funds, the shifting of the burden of proof onto the plaintiff, and the delay in delivering the judgment.
“We believe in due course, the Court of Appeal would make a decision that would protect the institution of banking but also give confidence to the public that their monies will not be lost when the banks become the judges of what should qualify as proper banking practice,” Mugerwa said.
According to Fabrice Rulinda, he is ready to champion this for everybody else because such institutions take people’s money and properties as well as violating customer rights and nothing you can do about it.
“This is not about the mayor of Entebbe. This is not about a movement called M23, this is an institution being a bully and on top of being a bully, it’s financing the social media thing. So if it was all about embarrassing me. Thank you indeed you have embarrassed me but it’s not a matter that I am going to stop pursuing,” Rulinda said.
The case outcome could set a key precedent for Uganda’s banking sector on handling suspicious transactions and anti-money-laundering enforcement.
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