For years, businessman Ahmed Dubow Hudey conducted business the way thousands of traders across Kampala do. No formal contracts. No lawyers. Just trust, WhatsApp messages, and bank transfers.
Dubow was a dealer in general merchandise, buying goods in Kampala and selling them across the Uganda–South Sudan border.
His main supplier was Narendra Kotecha, a businessman operating a shop in Arua Park on William Street under the name Kotecha Navin Solutions.
Like many traders in Kikuubo and Arua Park, their arrangement was simple. Dubow would send money to Kotecha’s Equity Bank account. Kotecha would then load goods onto trucks and send them north.
Between March 2024 and March 2025, Dubow sent Kotecha more than Shs 2.26 billion in several transactions. Some goods were supplied. Others were not.
The trouble started with the last payment.
On March 29, 2025, Dubow transferred Shs 300 million to Kotecha’s Equity Bank account. The money was meant to pay for another consignment of goods. This time, the goods never came.
Dubow travelled to Kampala to follow up. What he found alarmed him. Kotecha’s shop at Arua Park was closed. He could not be reached on the phone. Soon, police investigations showed that Kotecha had fled the country.
“The behaviour of the 1st Respondent is consistent with someone who has absconded and fled the jurisdiction,” the judge wrote, adding that flight records showed “a one-way exit with no forwarding address.”
Police and the Financial Intelligence Authority later confirmed something crucial. The Shs 300 million Dubow had last sent had not been withdrawn. It was still sitting on Kotecha’s Equity Bank account.
That discovery gave Dubow hope.
They first went to the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Makindye and obtained an order directing Equity Bank to reverse the money. The bank declined, arguing that the magistrate’s court lacked jurisdiction over sums above Shs 50 million.
Left with no option, the traders turned to the High Court.
They asked the court to order Equity Bank to transfer the Shs 300 million from Kotecha’s account back to Dubow’s account.
In court, Dubow’s lawyers painted a familiar picture of how business is done in Kampala’s trading hubs.
Dubow attached bank slips, WhatsApp chats, and police reports to show that the money was paid for goods that were never supplied.
His lawyers argued that this was a clear case of failure of consideration. Money was paid, but nothing was delivered.
They asked the court to use its inherent powers under section 98 of the Civil Procedure Act to “meet the ends of justice” by reversing the transaction.
Equity Bank, named as the second respondent, opposed the application but carefully distanced itself from the dispute.
The bank argued that it was not part of the business dealings between Dubow and Kotecha and could not decide who was right or wrong.
It told the court that it had only declined the magistrate’s order because of a lack of jurisdiction, not because it supported Kotecha.
Justice Bonny Isaac Teko, who heard the case, agreed that the bank that no wrongdoing was alleged against it.
The real question for the court was whether Dubow had proved that the Shs 300 million was paid for business purposes and whether Kotecha had breached that trust.
Justice Teko’s answer was clear.
“This case presents a mixed case scenario where the reliefs sought have to be determined based on commercial justice,” he said. He noted that the business model used by the parties (no formal contract, WhatsApp messages) was common in Arua Park, Kikuubo o and other business areas in Kampala.
After reviewing WhatsApp messages, bank records, and police reports, he concluded that there was indeed a business relationship and that the Shs 300 million was paid for goods.
“If one applies the standard of exceptional probability, we can deduce that the most probable reason for the deposits was business,” he said.
Kotecha never appeared in court. He did not file any response.
“It is trite law that facts in an affidavit, if not denied, are accepted as true,” Justice Teko observed.
In the end, the High Court ruled in favour of Dubow and his co-applicant.
The court ordered Equity Bank to transfer the Shs 300 million from Kotecha’s account back to Dubow’s account within seven days.
