Reginald Mengi sued for $100 mil by Yusuf Manji

 

 

 

By JULIUS BWAHAMA

9th September 2011

A PROMINENT businessman Yusuf Manji, on Thursday, filed a plaint at the High Court against the IPP Executive Chairman, Mr Reginald Mengi and eight others for deliberately conspiring to defraud him.

In the plaint civil case number 135 of 2011, apart from Mengi, other respondents include The Reginald Mengi Family Trust, Sabas Kiwango, Silvanus Chingota, Zuberi Kiponda, Saeed Kubenea and Islam Mbarak.

Others are Kainerugaba Msemakweli and Kagoda Agriculture Limited and the plaintiffs are Yusuf Manji and Quality Finance Corporation.

In the plaint it was mentioned that Manji through Quality Finance Corporation entered into a loan agreement with Kagoda Agriculture Limited but after being informed by the government that some of the proceeds received by his company from the transaction with Kagoda Agriculture Limited were tainted, on March, 2006 he decided to return the money to the government instead.

The plaint states that the move to remit the money against the advice of the third accused Saba Kiwango who was once Manji's counsel angered the Reginald Mengi Family Trust leading to Mengi's decision to use one of his media outlets to denounce Manji as one of the most corrupt individuals in the country.

The plaint claims that in an attempt to put pressure on Manji, Reginald Mengi Family Trust and Mengi established through Saeed Kubenea a publication called Mwanahalisi so as to make numerous negative publications about Manji.

Mr Manji is demanding 100bn/- against the defendants being compensation for defaming the plaintiffs on September 1, 2011 by Kainerugaba Msemakweli in the media during a 20:00 pm news bulletin broadcast and through interviews.

There were also photographs published prominently in the Guardian and Nipashe newspapers dated September 2, 2011 that portrayed Manji negatively.

Manji's plaint also states that the defendants are all aware that the allegations against the plaintiffs were not only falsehoods, but were also made with malice.
It claims that the documents to support such falsehoods could only have come to the defendants' custody through being associated with, and being part of Kagoda Agriculture Limited.

The 100bn/- compensation is also for the defendants' conspiracy to defraud the plaintiffs through a well orchestrated campaign running from 2005 to date in all matters involving Kagoda Agriculture Limited.

The plaint claims that in an attempt to prevent his (Mengi's) businesses from failing, he secured loans from government institutions dubiously and he has now become one of the largest individual defaulters of funds secured from national banks.

It further claims that on August, 2011 Msemakweli approached Manji demanding payment of 10m/- or else he will start a campaign against the plaintiff to tarnish his name concerning his involvement with Kagoda Agriculture Limited to the public.

But when Manji refused to give in to the blackmail, Msemakweli made false statements in the press against him.

It alleges that Msemakweli is a notorious extortionist who makes a living by publishing cheap and malicious articles against prominent people who would not fall for his threats.

According to the plaint Mengi has colluded with lawyer Sabbas Kiwango, Saeed Kubenea and activist Kainerugaba Msemakweli to dissuade Kagoda Agriculture Limited from abiding to its contractual obligations with the plaintiff's company.