Joweria Nakku, a resident of Kyebando, has filed a lawsuit against Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited for allegedly failing to protect her savings account, leading to the fraudulent withdrawal of Shs 68 million.
According to the court documents filed in the Commercial Division of the High Court of Uganda, Nakku claims that between February 7th and 8th, 2023, unauthorized transactions totaling Shs 68 million were made from her account via the Flexi Pay platform, a service she had never registered for. The transactions were conducted using four unknown Airtel lines.
Nakku’s lawyers, Kimanje Nsibambi Advocates, argue that the bank’s negligence allowed fraudsters to access her account undetected, conducting 28 transactions within 24 hours, exceeding her account’s transaction limit. They claim that the bank failed to exercise reasonable care to detect and prevent the fraud, despite the suspicious nature of the transactions.
The lawsuit also questions the effectiveness of Stanbic Bank’s authentication protocols and transaction monitoring, particularly with their Flexi Pay system. Nakku’s legal team argues that the bank’s failure to protect her account constitutes a breach of duty, rendering them liable for the losses she incurred.
In a proposed settlement agreement, Stanbic Bank offered to pay Nakku Shs 34 million, stating, “In consideration of the Second Party’s good and long-standing relationship with the First party, the First party shall make a good faith payment to the Second Party in the sum of UGX 34,000,000…which figure shall be in full and final settlement of all claims related to or arising out of the subject matter.”
However, Nakku rejected this offer, citing that it did not adequately compensate her for the losses she incurred. Her legal team argues that the bank’s failure to protect her account constitutes a breach of duty, rendering them liable for the full amount fraudulently withdrawn.
The case is set to be heard on June 24th, 2024, at 9:40 am in the Commercial Division of the High Court of Uganda.
