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Salaam Bank a subsidiary of Djibouti’s Salaam group got a license to operate as Uganda’s first Islamic Banking institution in September 2023. President Museveni would later officially launch the bank in March 2024 in an event where he boasted of Uganda’s biggest market for credit and business.
The Youngest Bank in Uganda is now embroiled in a legal storm where it’s former employee Ann Logose who was employed as an Applications support officer between January 2023 to December 2024 has through her lawyers instituted legal proceedings against Salaam Bank.
According to the documents seen by this publication which were served to Salaam Bank, Ann Logose says she was unfairly terminated under unclear circumstances after being given a salary loan to acquire a motor vehicle and later tricked into another loan which was never disbursed to her and also having her car repossessed by the bank also basing on flimsy grounds.
Ann Logose is just one of the many who have reportedly been fired under unclear circumstances but with their being non-Muslims as the real reason for termination of their contracts by Salaam Bank.
The Story.
Trouble stems from a loan facility dubbed Murabaha Facility which Logose applied for and was given green light in August 2024 and the offer letter dated 5th September 2024 was granted.
Salaam Bank agreed to sale a Motor Vehicle Subaru Impreza with registration number UBR 482M to the Plaintiff at a total cost of UGX 40,300,000 [Uganda Shillings Forty Million Three Hundred Thousand only]. Upon execution of the Facility Agreement (clause 1.3), risk and possession of the Motor Vehicle was transferred to the Logose.
Ann Logose was furnished with a payment schedule, which stipulated monthly deductions of UGX 671,706 [Uganda Shillings Six Hundred Seventy-One Thousand Seven Hundred Six only] from her monthly salary starting from 25 October 2024 to 29 September 2029 to service the Murabaha Facility.
In a twist of events, sometime in November 2024, the Bank’s Human Resources Manager- Ms. Serah Sanyu invited the Logose to join the Bank’s top management meeting in the Bank’s board room. The Bank had no prior notice of the agenda or the reason for the invitation.
She was coerced to disclose the particulars of a friendly loan amounting to UGX 3,600,000 [Uganda Shillings Three Million Six Hundred Thousand only], which she had procured to defray the costs of comprehensive insurance and installation of a car tracker for the Motor vehicle.
Pursuant to this disclosure, the Bank’s management issued a directive for the Ann Logose to submit an application for a salary advance, with an assurance of special approval. Notwithstanding the management’s instruction, the salary advance application was neither approved nor disbursed.
On 02 December 2024, the Bank’s Human Resources Manager requested the Logose to take her to her father-in-law’s place in Naalya where the car was packed. When the Logose reached her father-in-law’s place, the Bank’s Human Resources Manager directed that she wanted to drive loan car back to the head office. Upon arriving at the Head Office, the Human Resources Manager locked the car and retained the car keys, to the shock of the owner
Logose was not afforded the opportunity to collect her personal belongings from the vehicle. The Human Resources Manager informed her that the bank had elected to retain possession of the car and demanded that she settles the full purchase price under the Facility Agreement within a period of fifteen (15) days.
She would later inform Logose that her employment with the Bank was at risk and “management will set a precedent” and indeed on 04th December 2024, she received a letter from the Bank’s Managing Director recalling the Auto Murabaha facility and demanded immediate payment of the outstanding Balance of Shs38m.
She two days later formally protested the Bank’s decision to illegally recall the Facility without any event of default and requested the Managing director to reconsider the decision to recall the facility and illegally convert the Vehicle.
On 12 December 2024 the Bank’s Company Director formally wrote to the Logose indicating that the Bank will not reconsider its decision to recall the Facility. The Bank subsequently issued a further letter dated 20 December 2024, purporting to recall the Facility. On the same day, Ann Logose was served with a ‘termination’ letter for her role in the Bank unlawfully.
Even with a notification of complaint from the Ministry of Gender by the commissioner of Labour, Industrial relations and productivity urging the bank to resolve this issue, the top bosses at Salaam Bank remained defiant.
Left with no option and not to just let go like the previous employees who continue to be shown the exit purportedly for their Christian religious belonging, Ann Logose through her lawyers has instituted legal proceedings again Salaam Bank praying for damages, compensation and legal fees.
