The High Court has ordered MTN Uganda Limited to compensate its former senior employee, Richard Mwami, with more than Shs2.3 billion after ruling that the telecommunications company was responsible for his malicious prosecution in connection with the 2012 MTN Mobile Money fraud case.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Bonny Isaac Teko, the court found that MTN played a central role in initiating criminal proceedings against Mwami despite having evidence that cleared him of any involvement in the theft of about Shs16 billion from the company’s mobile money platform.
Mwami previously served as Senior Manager for MTN Village Phone before taking up the position of Senior Manager for Public Access. Court records indicate that he was the first to detect suspicious activity on the Fundamo mobile money platform in December 2011 and immediately reported the matter to senior management, prompting internal investigations.
Following the discovery of the fraud, MTN hired audit firm Grant Thornton to carry out a forensic investigation. The audit reportedly found no evidence linking Mwami to the theft.
Despite those findings, the company later relied on a charge and caution statement attributed to one of the suspects, Patrick Ssentongo, to implicate Mwami, leading to his arrest and prosecution.
However, that statement was later thrown out by the Anti-Corruption Court after it was ruled to have been obtained unlawfully and without the suspect’s consent. Justice Lawrence Gidudu held that the confession was inadmissible because it had been procured involuntarily.
In the civil suit, Justice Teko found that MTN employees were directly involved in the circumstances under which the disputed statement was obtained and that the company failed to disprove evidence connecting its officials to the process.
Mwami was eventually acquitted in December 2015 after the trial court concluded that there was no evidence linking him to the offences. The court described him as a “sacrificial lamb,” observing that he ought to have been called as a prosecution witness rather than being charged as an accused person.
Following his acquittal, Mwami sued MTN Uganda, accusing the company of malicious prosecution.
Justice Teko agreed with his claim, ruling that MTN had no reasonable or probable grounds to pursue criminal charges against him. The judge noted that the company ignored the findings of its own forensic audit and instead relied on a confession that was ultimately declared inadmissible.
The court further held that MTN acted maliciously by using the criminal justice process for purposes other than the proper administration of justice.
According to the judgment, Mwami was arrested more than a year after investigations had ended and after charges had already been brought against other suspects, despite being the employee who first exposed the fraudulent transactions.
The judge also questioned the involvement of the Violent Crimes Crack Unit in Mwami’s arrest, noting that the police unit ordinarily handles serious violent offences and that there was no credible evidence connecting him to the mobile money fraud.
The court accepted Mwami’s evidence that the prosecution irreparably damaged his professional reputation. Following his arrest, the Bank of Uganda reportedly classified him as a reputational risk, leading to the termination of his employment with Mobile Money Africa Limited.
Justice Teko further noted that Mwami spent seven days on remand at Luzira Prison, remained on restrictive bail terms for more than two years, and suffered lasting reputational harm after being publicly linked to the high-profile fraud case.
The court awarded him Shs1.809 billion in special damages, Shs400 million in general damages and Shs100 million in exemplary damages, bringing the total award to more than Shs2.3 billion.
In addition, MTN Uganda was ordered to pay interest at 10 percent per annum from the date of the judgment until the money is fully paid, as well as the costs of the suit.
While assessing damages, the court upheld Mwami’s claims for lost salary, housing allowance and medical benefits resulting from the loss of his employment. However, claims relating to the value of a company vehicle, performance bonuses and legal expenses were dismissed after the court found they had not been adequately proved.
Justice Teko said the award of exemplary damages was intended to discourage large corporate entities from abusing the criminal justice system.
Throughout the proceedings, MTN Uganda maintained that the decision to prosecute Mwami rested solely with the Uganda Police Force and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions. The court, however, ruled that the company’s actions were instrumental in triggering the prosecution and held it liable for malicious prosecution.
English 