Brothers Oscar Businge Baitwa and Geoffrey Baitwa, the directors of the Threeways shipping company have narrated how they survived imprisonment over MTN Uganda’s multibillion fraud.
In their joint statement signed by both brothers and seen by this mighty investigative website, they disclose that criminal prosecution against them and others kicked off in 2019 before the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court and the judgement was delivered in April 2025 by former head of the Division Justice Lawrance Gidudu.
“ This criminal trial dragged out too long, putting us and our families under great strain. Despite these circumstances, we remained steadfast as we waited and prayed for justice to prevail. We forever remain grateful to our spouses, parents, families, friends, business partners and each of you that stood with us in one way or another throughout this period,” their statement reads in parts.
They explained what they went through as 21 witnesses testified as their defence witnesses supporting the prosecution case assuring Court that through their company, they entered a contractual relationship with MTN in 2004 to 2012 until the indictment of USD 3,800,000,000 that was allegedly paid by MTN to their company between 2009 to 2012 pertaining to 125 fictitious invoices which were brought before Court.
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They noted that out of all the fictitious invoices, only 24 were admitted as evidence against them in court adding that there was no evidence that connected them to commiting of the crime that is why they were exonerated.
They further explain that when MTN disclosed to them about the incident, as directors of the company, they listened to their business partner and helped the investigations to establish the amount of money that was being stolen from the telecom company through their shipping company which resulted into signing of an agreement on how they were going to recover the loss MTN suffered and the payment was made.
“To our surprise, rather than conducting a joint reconciliation, MTN instead commenced criminal proceedings against us. Furthermore, MTN instituted Civil Suit in the Commercial Division of the High Court against the Threeways. This Civil matter was dismissed in 2015 but a notice of appeal was subsequently filed by MTN,” the statement reads.
This website has established that the exoneration of the threeways directors has created trouble for MTN bosses who handled the matter including their bosses and their superiors in South Africa because they warned them before entering the legal battle to settle the matter out of court and they refused insisting that they wanted to teach the two brothers a lesson never to play with MTN money.
Sources said that MTN has spent billions of shillings in financing the unsuccessful legal battles which added on the loss which the Court declared of being initiated from inside their company.
However, MTN through the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) has filed a notice of appeal against Justice Gidudu’s judgement.
