By Mulengera Reporters
As a Ugandan citizen (besides the Fountain of Honor part), President YK Museveni retains many private lawyers in Kampala who he assigns private errands from time to time. And Rukungiri-hailing Herbert Innocent Barigye (a childhood friend to Micheal Nuwagira Toyota) is one of them.
A naturally very combative person, Barigye has controversially picked a quarrel with Uganda Airlines with which he recently travelled to Dar es Salaam. Trouble began on Thursday 9th November when Barigye’s return flight from Dar es Salaam back to Kampala got frustrated because of his inability to promptly return with Uganda Airlines on which he had booked prior and made all the requisite payments. The Airline unexpectedly cancelled the entire Dar-Kampala flight leaving Barigye and other potential travelers stranded. This forced him to improvise and find some other alternative airline but the same meant making unplanned expenditures for which Barigye, fully aware of his rights and entitlements as a passenger, now wants some atonement to be reimbursed.
Mulengera News has seen emails Counsel Barigye on Saturday 11th November wrote (to Uganda Airlines officials namely [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], [email protected]) seeking to have his damage atoned but all in vain. Having been ignored, Barigye told reporters in Kampala on Friday he had been left with no option but to commence legal proceedings against the Airline.
His original mail read as follows: “I beg to refer to the above matter and I address you as hereunder; That on the 9th day of November 2023 I was supposed to return from Dar es salaam on your flight number UR 335 departing at 19:05 hours. The said flight was cancelled for reasons best known to yourselves. As a result, I incurred expenses which I demand that you refund and here below are particulars, receipts and amount of expenses; air ticket $974, Hotel $100, Taxi fare $70, half of my ticket fee $159, charge on my visa card $20 all of which total to $1,323 [roughly coming to Shs4,895,700].”
Barigye, who says he is taking legal action not because he is desperate for the money but because he feels obliged to do this to inspire many other voiceless travelers who one day might fight themselves aggrieved under similar circumstances, equally attached his bank details disclosing the Eco Bank Ndeeba branch account where his monies could be reimbursed. “This is therefore to demand the payment of $1,323 [one thousand three hundred twenty-three dollars] within four days from the date of this mail [namely 11th November] or else I shall recover my money by court action at the cost of your airline. I thank you. Barigye.”
He says that having been ignored by the Airline, without even exhibiting any courtesy of at least replying to acknowledge his email, on Monday he will be escalating things by filing a civil suit against the Airline in the High Court of Uganda.
Beyond just doing legal errands and being friend to Toyota, there is a lot of history to Herbert Innocent Barigye’s relationship with President Museveni. His late father Mzee Simon Batwababo was the veteran leader’s friend and classmate at Ntare School. Mzee Batwabaho’s closeness to Museveni grew even deeper when he famously documented Bakiga history under a book titled Kigezi-The History & Its People.
The old man died some few years ago after he had previously retired as an Assistant Commissioner from the Ministry of Education & Sports. At the MoES, Counsel Barigye’s dad had also been in charge of the PTCs’ inspection program. Counsel Barigye’s brother George Bende works with SFC and is particularly part of the team that guards the First Lady Janet Museveni. He one time got involved in a very devastating accident and Gen Museveni personally funded his specialized treatment in Germany. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [whatsapp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at [email protected]).
