Peter Katongole worked for Airtel Uganda for 13 years, during which time he rose to the position of Revenue Assurance and Fraud Manager.
In early 2020, Airtel began investigating suspected fraud in its mobile money commission system.
In February 2020, Airtel’s Revenue Assurance Centre of Excellence (RACE) team based in India flagged suspicious commission payments.
According to the company, in his position, Katongole ought to have acted on the warnings. Instead, the telecom says Katongole actively concealed the fraud.
These so-called loop transactions, Airtel claimed, involved cycling money through the system to artificially generate commissions. All said and done, the telecom firm claimed that at least Shs 1.24 billion was lost.
When the company instituted investigations, it claimed that Katongole was not cooperative.
Based on this, Airtel concluded that Katongole had breached his contractual duties and was grossly negligent in his role.
Investigations into the alleged fraud were conducted internally by Ernst & Young.
Following the investigations and internal processes, Airtel subjected Katongole to a disciplinary hearing. The company maintains that this was done in line with its Human Resource policies.
He was then summarily dismissed on October 6, 2020.
Shortly after his dismissal, Airtel sent an email to staff listing Katongole among employees who had been dismissed.
Katongole took the matter first to the labour office at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).
The case was handled by a labour officer, Wilson Jjingo, who investigated Katongole’s complaint about his dismissal.
Katongole argued before Jjingo that he had been unfairly dismissed from his job without being given a proper hearing or clear charges.
Airtel, on the other hand, defended the dismissal, saying it followed internal procedures and was based on serious concerns about fraud and negligence.
After reviewing the evidence, Jjingo ruled in Katongole’s favour. He found that the dismissal was unlawful and unfair, mainly because the company did not follow proper procedure.
However, Jjingo referred the question of damages and costs to the Industrial Court for final determination.
Airtel was not satisfied with this outcome and filed an appeal to the Industrial Court.
When the appeal was heard, the Industrial Court upheld Jjingo’s findings. Justice Anthony Wabwire Musana confirmed that Katongole’s dismissal had indeed been unlawful and unfair.
He was awarded Shs 223 million, which Airtel promptly paid.
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Not satisfied
Despite that payment, Katongole returned to the Industrial Court seeking another Shs3 billion in general and aggravated damages.
He said the way he was dismissed caused him emotional pain, financial hardship, and damage to his reputation.
He also claimed Airtel had indirectly linked him to fraud, which affected his career.
Airtel, represented by Richard Bibangamba and Viola Musiime, insisted Katongole had failed in his duties and that his dismissal followed internal procedures.
They also argued that he had already been fully compensated and that any further award must be strictly proved.
Justice Musana found that while Airtel suspected fraud and negligence, there was no clear public accusation that he personally stole money.
He noted that an internal email listed him among dismissed staff but did not state that he had been dismissed for fraud.
Justice Musana agreed that Katongole suffered distress due to the unfair dismissal.
“The claimant suffered inconvenience, anxiety… and emotional strain arising from the circumstances of his dismissal,” he said.
However, he said his situation was not severe enough to justify the Shs3 billion he demanded.
He said Katongole had already found another job at PostBank Uganda, which showed his career was not permanently damaged.
As a result, the court awarded him Shs 31 million, roughly equal to three months’ salary.
Katongole’s Airtel chapter was closed for good, but he was Shs 254 million richer, and to make matters better, he got a job at PostBank (which has since been renamed Pearl Bank).
