A Member of Parliament in Uganda has been sent to prison for his failure to repay a 58 million shillings loan to a money lender in Arua City.

Court documents reveal that Yovan Adriko, the MP for Vurra County in Arua District, borrowed the funds from Jubilee Finance Limited in 2021 and committed to making repayments in installments of 20 million shillings.

His arrest and subsequent imprisonment in the Arua government prison in West Nile came after numerous unsuccessful attempts to recover the money, as stated by Richard Bundu, the lender’s lawyer.

Bundu is quoted by the Monitor as saying, “This is the money he borrowed in 2021. We tried to recover the money from him, but he was very uncooperative. When you call him on the phone, he tells you many things, which I believe were lies.”

The legislator was prevented from making any statements in court after acknowledging his loan agreement. The court has imposed a six-month jail term should he fail to repay the loan.

The judgment by the Arua High Court states, “It is hereby decreed and ordered that default judgment is entered for the plaintiff for Shs58,143,900, and costs of the suit are awarded to the plaintiff.”

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Adriko’s arrest and legal proceedings come two months after Speaker of Parliament Anita Among threatened to annul all Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between money lenders and certain members of the house.

Among cited the exorbitant interest rates and accused money lenders of harassing legislators. She stated that her warnings were intended to instill discipline among moneylenders

 “And money lenders who are harassing MPs with very high-interest rates, even if it’s just one day overdue, I am going to cancel those MoUs because the easiest way to get their money is from Parliament,” she told Parliament.