Arua MP jailed six months over shs55.6m loan
By Nalwadda Nsangi Mara
Adriko Yovan, the Member of Parliament representing Vurra County in Arua District has been committed to civil prison for six months over failure to service a loan amounting to shs55.6million that he borrowed in 2021.
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Adriko was on Friday arraigned before Arua High Court deputy registrar, Leo Karungi who committed him to Arua government prison for a period of six months.
The arrest of the MP followed an arrest warrant issued against the legislator for failure to turn up to court to show cause why he had failed to pay the outstanding loan acquired from Jubilee Finance Limited.
According to Richard Bundu of Bundu and Co. Advocates, the lawyer representing Jubilee Finance Limited, Adriko borrowed shs52.7 million at an interest rate of 15% which was to be paid in a period of one month.
However, he failed to pay back .
Bundu says that after a year of being noncommittal, Jubilee Finance Limited reached out to him in a move to recover their money from the MP.
“He had become evasive; I would call him and then he tells he is in Kampala yet he’s in Arua or he says he is Congo yet he is in Kampala. That forced us to file a case against him and soon after, summons were issued by court and we served him in person and also via his email but still he remained non-committed and the court entered judgement against him,” Bundu said.
It is said that after Adriko learnt about the default judgement entered on August 18, 2022, decreeing and ordering him to pay back what he owed Jubilee Finance Limited, he made two installments amounting to shs20m reducing it to sh.48,143,900.
Meanwhile, on Thursday October 12, 2023 , the MP was tricked by the court bailiff Paul Mawa of T/A Vitality Associates to pick money for a land transaction at Slumberland hotel where he was arrested from.
“He kept on playing his usual games of lying to us until the moment we felt it was enough and advised my clients to take another step leading to his arrest and subsequent imprisonment,” Bundu stated.
According to the court documents, Adriko is to pay the principle of shs48,143,900 and costs of the suit of shs7.5 million all totaling to shs55.6 million.
