Company awarded Shs 100m over Umeme power disconnection in 2012

What the report says

The Court of Appeal has awarded Edroch Plastics Co. Limited Shs 100 million in general damages after overturning a High Court ruling that had dismissed the company’s case against former electricity distributor Umeme. The dispute centred on the alleged unlawful disconnection of power to Edroch Plastics’ factory and the delay in restoring the three-phase supply needed to run its machinery.

According to The Observer, the company said it had been connected in 2007, but its factory was cut off in July 2012 after reports of electricity theft in the area. Although supply was later restored to nearby premises after investigations, Edroch Plastics said it remained without electricity until August 2013. The firm argued that it was not linked to the theft and that repeated requests to reconnect the factory were ignored.

A three-judge panel found that the High Court had erred in accepting Umeme’s position that the disconnection was justified. In the lead judgment, Justice Esta Nambayo said the evidence did not show that Edroch Plastics was involved in the alleged theft, and that a report of theft in an area did not justify cutting off all consumers on the same line. The court also found that Umeme had failed to adequately explain the prolonged interruption.

Edroch Plastics had sought Shs 276 million, but the court said some claimed losses were not sufficiently proved. The award was therefore limited to general damages for business disruption and inconvenience. Justices Cheborion Barishaki and Musa Ssekaana concurred. Umeme’s distribution concession later ended in 2025, with UEDCL taking over distribution.