Citizen asks Court to abolish Uganda shilling notes, coins

By Elizabeth Ankunda

20^th Feb 2024

A  Ugandan Citizen, Brian Kasajja, has petitioned the High Court in Mukono  seeking to abolish all the Uganda Shilling notes and coins in circulation.

In his petition filed before the Civil Division of the High Court in Mukono, Kasajja is seeking a declaration that the continued circulation of Bank Notes signed by the Deputy Governor Bank of Uganda Dr Michael Atingi-Ego is unlawful, irrational and a nullity at law.

He wants an order quashing all the currency bank notes of denominations of 1,000, 2000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 signed by Atingi-Ego on the basis that they are not a legal tender on their face value in law as they bear an electronic signature of an unauthorized person.

In the same suit, Kasajja is seeking a declaration proclaiming and affirming that the Ugandan Shilling Currency Bank Notes in continuous public circulation bearing the electronic signature of the late Governor Prof. Dr. Emmanuel Mutebile are not legal tender.

He says the late Governor’s electronic signature is currently invalid in law on account  that there is no survivorship or inheritance attached to it upon death of the  signature holder, and it is mandatorily liable to be revoked upon the death of the maker under the provision of section 69(a) of the Electronic  Signatures Act, 2011.

Although  Mutebile died on January 23rd 2022, the  Senior Economist Dr Atingi-Ego was appointed as his Deputy Governor of the Bank of Uganda, on March 29th  2020 and has since then been the signatory on the Ugandan  currencies following Mutebile’s death.