The Commercial Division of the High Court has ordered Acacia Foundation Limited to pay USD 30,000 to Jie Mei International Limited after finding that the company breached a transport services contract by failing to settle an outstanding bill for the delivery of goods from Kenya to Uganda.
In a judgment delivered on June 12, 2026, Justice Patience T.E. Rubagumya ruled in favor of Jie Mei International Limited, holding that the company had fulfilled its contractual obligations and was therefore entitled to payment.
Court records indicate that the two companies entered into a transport agreement on June 14, 2024, under which Jie Mei International was contracted to transport ten 20-foot containers from Mombasa Port in Kenya to Acacia Foundation’s warehouse in Kampala at an agreed cost of USD 30,000.
Jie Mei International argued that it successfully delivered the cargo between June and July 2024 and subsequently issued invoices for payment. However, despite several demands, Acacia Foundation allegedly failed to settle the debt, prompting the company to seek legal redress.
In its defence, Acacia Foundation acknowledged signing the transport contract but denied liability, arguing that the services in question had been provided by another company, Nice Star International Limited. The defendant maintained that it had already been billed for the same transportation services and that paying Jie Mei International would amount to double payment.
During the hearing, the court examined evidence including the transport agreement, delivery records, invoices, and the bill of lading linked to the shipment. The defendant admitted receiving the goods but insisted that the deliveries were handled by Nice Star International.
Justice Rubagumya noted that while Nice Star International physically delivered the cargo, the evidence showed that Jie Mei International was the company contracted to transport the goods and possessed the necessary documentation relating to the shipment. The judge found it more probable that Nice Star International acted on behalf of Jie Mei International in executing the deliveries.
The court further observed that Acacia Foundation had provided the relevant bill of lading to Jie Mei International and had accepted the delivered goods without objection. According to the ruling, this demonstrated that the plaintiff had performed its obligations under the contract.
Having established that the services were rendered, the court held that Acacia Foundation breached the agreement by refusing to pay the agreed transport charges after receiving the goods.
The judge also dismissed the defendant’s attempt to rely on a separate dispute involving Nice Star International, noting that any disagreements arising from a different contract could not be used to deny Jie Mei International payment for services already rendered.
As a result, the court ordered Acacia Foundation to pay USD 30,000 to Jie Mei International. The court also awarded interest at a rate of 18 percent per annum from the date the suit was filed until full payment is made, in addition to the costs of the suit.
Justice Rubagumya declined to award general damages sought during submissions, noting that the claim had not been specifically pleaded in the suit.
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