A top-performing primary school in Nakaseke District is embroiled in a financial dispute with a commercial bank it accuses of attempting to auction its premises over a contested Shs800 million loan.
Edward Mubanda, director of Ellen White Bright Future Primary School located in Semuto Town Council, says Opportunity Bank Uganda Limited issued the school a five-year loan of Shs215 million in 2015. The school was expected to repay the loan in Shs25 million installments every school term.
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In 2018, the school secured a top-up loan. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school closures, repayments stalled and the debt grew. Mubanda says that by 2022—when schools reopened—the outstanding balance had risen to Shs559 million.
According to him, despite honoring the agreed installment payments, the bank failed to provide clear updates on the loan’s performance. “It’s unfair. We kept paying as agreed, but they suddenly asked us to start paying Shs170 million per term,” Mubanda told reporters.
He further claims the situation escalated on April 22, when the bank issued a demand notice for Shs1.8 billion—addressed to teachers and pupils—warning of the school’s impending sale. A second notice dated April 30 demanded Shs884 million.
Mubanda says the notices caused widespread panic among parents and the community. “Over 300 pupils were withdrawn from the school by their parents after the auction threats,” he noted.
Despite escalating the matter to the Bank of Uganda (BoU), which ordered Opportunity Bank to clarify the loan details, Mubanda claims the school has yet to receive a satisfactory explanation. He also alleges that about Shs400 million paid over eight academic terms was never reflected in the loan balance.
A letter dated May 23 from Anne Kiwanuka Kalanda, BoU’s Director of Commercial Banking, instructed Mubanda to meet with Opportunity Bank to review the loan records—including all changes to balances, disbursements, and charges—and said a formal meeting should occur by May 30.
When contacted, Opportunity Bank’s Head of Credit, Michael Omara, acknowledged the bank’s longstanding relationship with the school. He confirmed the outstanding loan balance stood at Shs884 million, admitting an earlier demand for Shs1.8 billion was due to a clerical error by a credit officer.
“We corrected the figure. The school should now work with us to agree on repayment terms,” Omara said in a phone interview.
About the School
Ellen White Bright Future Primary School, which serves around 500 pupils, has consistently ranked among Nakaseke’s best performers in national Primary Leaving Examinations over the past 15 years.
The school administration now fears for its future, as uncertainty over the loan and the looming threat of auction continue to erode parents’ trust and pupil enrollment.
Also Read: Amama Mbabazi’s Daughter Wanted Over Unpaid Shs 450m Loan
