After AYA Group proprietor Hamid Mohammad Mohammad announcing bankruptcy in April, this year, on Sept. 25, a public notice that was disseminated by Armstrong Limited; court-appointed bailiffs and debt collectors, under instructions from M/S MMAKS Advocates and ENSafrica Advocates (representing the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Ltd.), declared that unless all outstanding dues were cleared ahead of Oct. 26, 2023, the hotel would be presented at a public auction. With just days remaining it is allegedly marked that Hamid has failed to secure himself.

It has come to our understanding that the auction is aimed at recouping a hefty Shs611b ($160m) debt, which digs back to a financial agreement inked in 2007.  This agreement was between AYA Investments and the South African financial institution for the hotel’s construction as Uganda was in hasty preparation for CHOGM.  

Later the boss (Aya) faced cat runs with URA and the clearance and forwarding companies that allegedly delayed the Hotel’s mighty days of construction. And this in the run delayed the business’s lucrative expectations.  

AYA runs into Legal tussles

Legal battles became sour for tycoon Hamid and his Aya Investments Limited during the judgments by the Court of Appeal that limited AYA from attempts to appeal against the payment decree of Shs611b ($162.1m) to IDC of South Africa Limited. This also followed the Bruce Collins QC Tribunal’s order last year that mandated the payout.

Records indicate that a decade ago, a substantial Shs305 billion ($80.9 million) was handed over by the South African lender to Hamid, an amount which remains unpaid till today. This debt till his give-up is the controversial one said to have taken him pants down.

Worse still, with Justice Stephen Mubiru’s approval for IDC’s motion to solidify the award as a High Court decree, this has left matters standing bitter for multimillionaire Hamid.

Hamid who has hovered to most big wings in government for help has however been said to have failed to do a good sourcing to clear the debt.

Mohammed Hamid, 47, a Ugandan multimillionaire is the founder of AYA Group, a $200-million (annual revenues) Ugandan corporation with interests in milling, food manufacturing, commodity trading and both international and local hospitality. Hamid is however said to be running other multi-billion businesses across Europe.

Author: UG pepper

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