Anthony Natif took on Friecca Pharmacy, won the first round. Friecca then won the second round, and eventually, Natif was kicked out of his building, dubiously.
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Friecca Pharmacy in Wandegeya should be entered into our folklore. For more than two decades, it has been one of the most thriving pharmaceutical businesses in Kampala, thanks to its large stock of drugs.
Hundreds of people, often referred from various health facilities, throng the pharmacy. Those in the pharmacy business reckon that it rakes in millions of shillings per day.
However, eight years ago, Anthony Natif, a businessman-cum-social activist, took on Friecca Pharmacy in one of the most dramatic legal cases in the recent past. He won part one of the legal fight, then dubiously lost the next at the hands of a judge whose rulings have long been questioned.
Along with this defeat, Natif lost his business and hundreds of millions of shillings.
This is how it all started.
In 2017, Natif wanted to expand his pharmacy business under Guardian Health Limited by setting up a branch in Wandegeya. He bought Vine Pharmacy along Hajj Musa Kasule Road with a plan of rebranding it as Guardian Pharmacy. However, along the way, Natif and his business partners noticed that the Vine premises were small for the kind of pharmacy they wanted to set up in Wandegeya. So, they looked for another location and found it. The problem was, it was 10 metres from Friecca Pharmacy.
Friecca ran to court seeking a permanent injunction restraining the National Drug Authority (NDA) from licensing Guardian Health Ltd and its director, Natif Anthony, to operate a pharmacy within a 200-meter radius of its outlet in Wandegeya.
Friecca claimed a right to exclusivity under the National Drug Authority (NDA) licensing guidelines and alleged unfair competition. But Natif and NDA argued in court that Friecca’s suit was “premature” and “speculative” since NDA had not yet granted relocation approval to Guardian Health Limited.
On July 30, 2018, Justice Elizabeth Alividza of the commercial court ruled that no legal right had been violated and noted inconsistencies in the guidelines submitted by the parties.
She emphasized the lack of legal certainty in NDA’s regulatory framework and criticized the premature initiation of litigation by Friecca.
She dismissed the case and advised that Friecca can only seek redress after an actual decision to grant Guardian Health Limited a license to operate a pharmacy in that location has been granted NDA.
The matter was closed. Or that is what it seems.
Twist
In 2019, Natif filed a case in the High Court, Civil Division, on the grounds of malicious prosecution arising out of civil proceedings. Friecca countered, saying Natif’s suit should not be entertained for not disclosing a cause of action and for being “frivolous” and “vexatious.”
The case was handed to Justice Musa Ssekaana and this was protested by Natif’s team. Natif’s team argued that there was conflict of interest since Ssekaana, while still a private lawyer, had vever represented Friecca Pharmacy. The claims were counted by Friecca’s lawyers led by John Musiime.
In the end, Ssekaana refused to recuse himself from the case and delivered a ruling against Natif.
In his ruling, Ssekaana said Natif had failed to prove that the first case initiated by Friecca was borne of ‘malice’ and “without reasonable and probable cause.”
He said: “Malice and ‘without reasonable and probable cause’ are two distinct ingredients for an action for malicious prosecution, which the plaintiff must prove. In other words, he should prove that the proceedings were initiated with a malicious spirit and not in furtherance of justice.”
He said Natif’s case falls short of the requirements of malicious prosecution, and this ought to have a duty to bring litigation to an end between the parties.
“The plaint is struck out,” Ssekaana said as he hit the gavel on the desk.
Friecca Pharmacy won, but Natif at least retained his building in Wandegeya, which he had purchased for his business.
Thrown out of the building
Out of the blue, some people (said to be friends of the owners of Friecca) claimed that the building Natif had bought was theirs. They took him to court for trespassing. In court, Natif proved that he had bought the building and tabled the land title.
The court ruled in Natif’s favour, so he won. Or so he thought.
A city lawyer went to Wandegeya Police Station and claimed he had an order to evict Natif from the building.
Without asking many questions, the police swung into action, evicted Natif’s employees, locked the building, and deployed officers to guard it 24 hours.
Yes, that closed one story building not far from Friecca Pharmacy (next to Delight Supplies) which is guarded by police officers 24/7.
It’s been close to six years since the building was closed. Natif has approached several people including the powerful men and women in government seeking their intervention.
Some assured him they will handle the matter, only to coil their tails in fear. Natif says he is angling for another big legal fight that he hopes will lead to victory.
