Ecobank Uganda has lost a UGX 1.87 billion debt case in the High Court's Commercial Division after the court found the bank had not produced genuine system-generated records to support its claim. Lady Justice Anna Mugenyi dismissed the suit with costs, according to Red Pepper, leaving the lender without the money it sought and bearing the expense of the litigation.
The ruling, reported on 22 October 2026, has prompted scrutiny of the bank's internal controls and of the leadership of its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Grace B. Muliisa, who took office in September 2021 after Annette Wabunoha Kihuguru.
Why it matters
The decision turns on a basic expectation of banking litigation: that a lender can show a court a traceable, tamper-proof account of a loan from disbursement through repayment. Ecobank could not, and the case was thrown out.
For a tier-one institution, the outcome carries both financial and reputational weight. The bank not only failed to recover the sums claimed but was ordered to cover the costs of the suit. Red Pepper reports that industry observers are now asking how a fully licensed commercial bank came to rely on spreadsheet extracts in a multi-billion-shilling claim, and who oversees record-keeping and legal strategy under the current management.
What Ecobank claimed, and what the borrower said
Ecobank sued Plan Build Technical Services and its directors, Wandera Dennis Ochwo and Jennipher Nannozi, seeking UGX 1.083 billion plus USD 196,490.56, roughly UGX 786 million. The bank said it had extended six loan facilities to the company between 2010 and 2013 and that the directors had not cleared the balance. It also applied 25% annual interest to the sum from 2017 and sought damages.
Plan Build responded with a counterclaim that reversed the picture. The company said it had borrowed UGX 1.051 billion but had repaid UGX 1.653 billion — an overpayment of UGX 602 million, or 57.3% above the principal. It accused the bank of imposing unlawful and excessive interest and asked for the excess to be returned.
With the two accounts in direct conflict, both sides agreed to appoint an independent forensic auditor to examine the records.
Auditor finds spreadsheets, not core banking data
According to Red Pepper, the material Ecobank gave the auditor was not core banking data but Excel extracts. The files contained inconsistencies in booking dates, erroneous transaction entries and questionable interest calculations. The bank did not supply original system records connecting the loan accounts to the company's operating accounts, which undermined the reliability of the figures.
Justice Mugenyi held that as the institution that originated and held the accounts, Ecobank carried the primary legal obligation to present clear, system-tracked loan schedules rather than documents with gaps and scattered explanations. A bank pursuing a debt must produce authentic, system-generated records that let the court follow each facility from disbursement to repayment and establish what remains owed, she ruled.
Having found that the bank did not meet the required standard of proof, the judge dismissed the claim with costs. The company's UGX 602 million counterclaim was also rejected, with the court finding that neither side had provided verifiable authentication for its position.
Pressure on the managing director
The dismissal has shifted attention to Ecobank Uganda's leadership. Red Pepper reports growing calls from critics and stakeholders for accountability at the top, questioning how the bank's records and legal approach were handled during a case of this size. Some analysts quoted by the outlet describe the court outcome as a verdict on management, and there are suggestions that the board should act if the problems are not corrected.
Muliisa has led the bank since September 2021. Neither she nor Ecobank Uganda has issued a public response to the ruling or to the criticism reported by Red Pepper.
What to watch: whether Ecobank appeals the decision, and whether its board addresses the questions raised about internal controls and management.
