Negash Tenaye Anteneh and Haile Banteyehun got married in Ethiopia, 50 years ago (October 1976). In the 1980s, the couple moved to Uganda to do business.
Life seemed good, and Banteyehun set up Vambeco Enterprises in 1999. The company specializes in water supply, sanitation, and civil engineering works.
In 2004, after they had made some considerable money, the couple began constructing their matrimonial home on land in Kiwatule. The house was registered in Banteyehun’s name.
But trouble started when Vambeco ran into financial problems, and Banteyehun decided to use the matrimonial home as security to get a loan from NCBA Bank Uganda. Anteneh says her husband did not consult her about this decision.
She said the first time she became aware of the mortgage and impending sale of their Kiwatule home on November 19, 2025, was when a friend showed her a newspaper advert. This was after Vambeco, her husband’s company, had defaulted on the loan.
She ran to court, accusing her husband and NCBA Bank of trying to sell the Kiwatule house without her consent.
She said the bank did not carry out due diligence on the property because, had it done so, it would have found out that the property was her matrimonial home and was therefore subject to spousal consent.
NCBA Bank Uganda, through its manager of legal services, Brenda Kyokwijuka, defended its actions and opposed Anteneh’s application.
The bank told the court that a valid consent judgment had already been entered on March 26, 2025, and that other related applications were challenging the same judgment.
The bank said Anteneh’s application was procedurally flawed. NCBA was represented by Allan Mark Lutaaya of SM & Co. Advocates.
However, Anteneh, through her lawyers Derrick Bazekuketta and Abubakar Ssekanjako of Olympia Advocates, maintained that her case was distinct and centred on her rights as a spouse.
The lawyers argued that the matter involved fraudulent dealing in Anteneh’s matrimonial property without her consent, which was different from other applications cited by the bank.
Anteneh’s husband, Banteyehun, and his company, Vambeco Enterprises, did not file affidavits in reply and were largely absent from the proceedings.
One key legal question was whether Anteneh’s application should be dismissed because of similar cases already before the court, under the rule of lis pendens, which prevents multiple cases on the same issue.
Justice Patience Rubagumya of the commercial division of the High Court said Anteneh’s application does not offend the ‘lis pendens’ rule.”
She then turned to whether Anteneh deserved protection from the imminent sale of the property.
Anteneh’s lawyers had argued that she would suffer irreparable harm if the house was sold, pointing to her long occupation and emotional attachment. She had lived in the house for 20 years, and it was where she raised her children.
NCBA Bank countered that Anteneh had not proved substantial loss and that her claims of stress and attachment did not meet the legal threshold.
However, Justice Rubagumya said Anteneh’s arguments were valid because there was clear evidence of a pending sale, citing the newspaper advert in which the Kiwatule property was listed.
She concluded that the threat was real and immediate.
On the issue of the delay in filing, the court accepted Anteneh’s explanation that she only became aware of the matter in November 2025 when the property was advertised in the newspapers. That is why she filed her application in December.
NCBA Bank had asked Anteneh to deposit the full amount (due to it) as security if her application failed. Justice Rubagumya declined the request.
“In the interest of justice would be better served if the status quo is maintained,” she said, adding that ordering such a deposit would be inappropriate given the nature of the case.
In the end, Anteneh won the case. The court ordered the bank not to sell the property until the substantive case is heard.
While Justice Rubagumya’s ruling does not resolve the underlying dispute over the loan or the mortgage, it ensures that the property will not be sold before those issues are fully heard.
Anteneh can sleep soundly…but just for now, as we Ugandans say.
