The Board of Igara Growers Tea Factory Limited has been restricted from carrying out company business as the High Court prepares to determine a case challenging the legality of its composition and authority.
The directive issued by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) bars individuals whose positions as directors are under dispute from managing company affairs, submitting resolutions, filing returns or presenting other official documents to the company registry until the court delivers its ruling.
In a decision dated July 10, 2026, Assistant Registrar of Companies Daniel Nasasira rejected attempts by individuals whose terms of office are contested to convene general meetings, stating that any such actions must follow procedures outlined under Section 138 of the Companies Act.
The ruling follows an earlier intervention by URSB in June, when the Bureau halted the company’s Annual General Meeting that had been scheduled for June 24 after receiving a petition questioning the legitimacy of the current board. URSB said maintaining the existing situation was necessary to protect the integrity of the legal process.
The petition was filed by shareholders Asuman Batangaya, Willis Bashaasha, Ronald Rwankanji, Godfrey Agaba Turikwendera and Hannington Katarikawe, backed by more than 382 shareholders holding a combined 117,869 shares in the company.
The shareholders accuse the company’s leadership of being affected by disputed elections, an expired board mandate and alleged financial and administrative failures that have impacted workers, tea farmers and the overall operations of the factory.
According to the petitioners, an Extraordinary General Meeting held on January 31, 2025 resolved that the then board would continue managing the company only until August 2025, when outstanding Annual General Meetings for 2022, 2023 and 2024 were expected to take place.
They argue that the board’s mandate officially ended on August 31, 2025, and that subsequent efforts to select and declare new directors were unlawful because the Vetting Committee responsible for the process was allegedly not properly constituted in accordance with the company’s 2017 Amended Articles of Association.
The shareholders further claim that former Board Chairperson Samuel Muhereza improperly chaired the vetting process despite having reached retirement age, while some zone chairpersons who participated in the exercise had already completed their terms.
The leadership dispute is also before the High Court following a case filed in October 2025 by company member Richard Nshumbusha, who challenged the management of the company’s affairs.
The court issued an interim order stopping the installation of the disputed directors before the matter was transferred to the High Court in Bushenyi, where it was later consolidated with an application involving the Registrar of Companies.
The shareholders have also raised concerns over the company’s financial position, alleging that the prolonged governance crisis has contributed to accumulated liabilities, including approximately Shs1.4 billion in unpaid staff salaries, about Shs1.7 billion in unremitted National Social Security Fund (NSSF) contributions, outstanding Savings and Credit Cooperative deductions, and more than Shs6 billion reportedly owed to tea out-growers for green leaf supplied to the factory.
In his ruling, Nasasira dismissed preliminary objections raised by Igara Growers Tea Factory Limited and referred the dispute over the company’s leadership to the High Court under Section 138 of the Companies Act.
He further directed that any action involving the appointment of inspectors under Sections 169 and 170 of the Act should be delayed until the court determines the lawful composition of the company’s board.
The Registrar also ruled that each party should meet its own legal costs, noting that the matter relates to the governance of a public company.
Established in 1969, Igara Growers Tea Factory Limited is owned by more than 7,000 tea farmers from five operational zones in the greater Bushenyi area.
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