Troubled Roko Construction Company has again failed to secure a Court Order stopping bailiffs from auctioning their multibillion empire over a Shs1.4bn debt after Court of Appeal Justice Musa Ssekaana dismissed their application for stay of execution.rokor
In their application, Roko construction through their lawyers led by Nelson Ainebyona, basing on the affidavit of Mark Koehler the top boss of the company pleaded with justice Ssekaana that the execution process is in its last stage and if allowed to be completed, it will result into the collapse of their company.
The lawyers told Court that Pramukh Steel Company Limited has hired the services of Capital Debt Agency to execute the courts results from a suit before the Commercial Division of the High Court and a number of their properties including movable and immovable assets are in danger.
They explained that in their execution orders, Pramukh Steel Company Limited didn’t specify which assets have to be attached thus fearing that the company’s properties including machinery, monies for execution of government contracts and offices that are the main tools of trade, shall be attached and sold.
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They added that the attachment of their company’s properties will affect the execution of contracts awarded to them by the government of Uganda and among the affected contracts is that of the National Planning Authority.
“Therefore, the said property is in imminent danger of being disposed off as the respondent is attempting to take possession and the buyers have started lingering around, thus needing the order of stay of execution” Mark’s affidavit reads in parts.
The dismissal of the stay of the execution orders comes at a time when the 30 days period given to Roko Construction to pay the money before auctioning of their properties including their head offices situated at LRV 1532 FOLIO 9 land at Kololo Terrace Kampala city lower Kololo plot 3A have elapsed.
In their response, the respondents through their lawyers led by Henry Nyegenyo asked Court to dismiss the application with costs insisting that Roko is using Court to abuse the process of executing the orders so that their clients recover their money which the respondent didn’t contest.
The judge explained that the decree in question is for money amounting to a sum of USD399,156.050 plus interest at 10% and costs which is well established that execution of a money decree does not ordinarily cause irreparable damage, as money can be refunded if the appeal succeeds.
He insisted that a successful litigate cannot be deprived of the fruits of his litigation while an appeal is pending noting that it is the inherent right of the decree holder to enjoy the fruits of litigation.
” The particular circumstances in this case do not warrant an exercise of discretion to grant a stay of execution. The applicant should pay the decretal sum in order to avert the execution process otherwise the court would be causing extreme hardship of reversing an execution or attachment which has already been done,” the judge stated.
According to court records, the steel company wants to recover USD 399,156.050 with interest, general damages and costs of the suit in the Commercial Division of the High Court.
Documents state that the steel company supplied Roko with various steel products worth USD 450,827.850 and Roko only paid USD 51,671.800 leaving a balance of USD 399,156.050 which the High Court directed them to pay with 10% interest from 2020 when the case was filed in the Commercial Division of the High Court.
