Court Extends Summons to Exodus SACCO Bosses for Illegal Money Lending

By Spurb Ernest

The summons, initially issued in November 2024, was extended on Monday when the complainant in this case, Steven Kalali, appeared to follow up on the matter. The summons were extended until February 26, 2025.

The Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court has extended its criminal summons against Wilson Omoding, Chairperson of the Police Savings group known as Exodus Cooperatives and Credit Society Limited, and Secretary Daniel Ogwok. They are required to answer charges related to conducting a money-lending business without a license. 

The summons, initially issued in November 2024, were extended on Monday when the complainant, Steven Kalali, appeared to follow up on the case. The summons is now set to continue until February 26, 2025. Omoding and Ogwok did not appear, leading to the adjournment and extension of the summons. Kalali was informed that the matter had been adjourned last week without any parties present due to the Magistrate’s absence.

However, Kalali reported that they had signed a consent with the lawyers representing Omoding and Ogwok to adjourn the case to that day, resulting in a conflict with the court diary. The summons require Omoding and Ogwok to respond to three charges brought against them by City Lawyer Steven Kalali, acting as a Private Prosecutor. 

Kalali’s complaint states that Exodus SACCO has over 30,000 police officer members who were involuntarily recruited. Their salaries continue to be deducted by between 20,000 to 50,000 shillings as monthly contributions without their express written consent. While Kalali acknowledges that Exodus Cooperative Savings and Credit Society offers financial services to its members, he maintains that it has never been licensed by regulatory bodies like the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority and the Bank of Uganda, as required by law.

“I am aware that upon the enforcement of the Tier 4 Microfinance and Money Lenders Act Cap 61, a public notice was issued requiring all entities to obtain licenses for their operations,” Kalali stated in his complaint. He argues that these deductions without the consent of police officers violate the law and amount to theft under the Penal Code Act. Consequently, he believes the management of Exodus SACCO should be held criminally liable for this abuse and violation of legal processes. 

“The ongoing deductions from police officers’ salaries for membership contributions to Exodus Cooperative Savings and Credit Society Limited continue to occur despite the SACCO operating financial services, including loans, without a legal license,” Kalali wrote in his complaint. 

Kalali’s claims of illegal operations by Exodus SACCO were further supported by reports from Parliament and communications from relevant regulatory entities, including the Bank of Uganda and Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority. He has formally requested that criminal summons be issued against the leaders of Exodus SACCO so they can appear in court to face charges. 

Media reports in 2024 indicated that the Police owed the Savings Association 6.5 billion shillings in arrears and remittances, frustrating members who were unable to secure loans even three months after applying. This situation arose after the government failed to clear part of the savings deducted from civil servants alongside outstanding arrears, leading to a funding shortage within the SACCO.

In February 2024, Parliament directed the Uganda Police Force’s Exodus Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO) to stop mandatory deductions of personnel salaries for savings. The Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs, chaired by MP Wilson Kajwengye, discovered that the SACCO’s management was violating the Cooperatives Societies Act by denying members the option of voluntary saving. 

In 2024, Kalali petitioned the High Court, challenging Exodus SACCO’s actions of subjecting police officers to mandatory and involuntary salary deductions for contributions to the SACCO. In his suit, which lists the Attorney General as the first respondent, Kalali argued that since 2015, serving members of the Police have been compulsorily recruited into the Exodus Cooperatives Savings and Credit Society Limited, which continues to deduct their salaries against their will. 

He seeks a declaration that the government has failed in its obligation to ensure that police officers are not arbitrarily deprived of their right to freedom of association or extorted of their earnings. He is also seeking a declaration that the salary deductions against the members’ will are illegal and unlawful. The matter remains pending before the Civil Division of the High Court.