Ugandan woman wins landmark case after bank drains her life savings
A Ugandan woman has won a legal battle against Centenary Rural Development Bank Limited after her savings vanished from her account. Aida Atiku discovered in August 2020 that her balance had dropped to zero due to unauthorised withdrawals made via the bank's CenteMobile platform. She took the bank to court, seeking the recovery of over 55 million Ugandan shillings.
Atiku opened a personal savings account at the bank's Nairembe Road branch in January 2020. Between 4th and 10th of that month, she deposited a total of 56,320,000 shillings. Records show she made only one withdrawal of 700,000 shillings on 13th January.
On 27th August 2020, Atiku found her account empty. The bank argued that she had registered for *CenteMobile* when opening the account, implying she authorised the transactions. She disputed this claim and filed a lawsuit, demanding the return of 55,616,000 shillings. The case, *Aida Atiku Versus Centenary Rural Development Bank Limited (Civil Suit No. 0754 of 2020)*, was heard by the High Court's Commercial Division. Honourable Justice Stephen Mubiru presided over the proceedings. After reviewing the evidence, the court delivered its judgment on 18th July 2022.
The ruling ordered the bank to repay the disputed sum to Atiku. The judgment confirmed that the withdrawals were unauthorised and that the bank failed to prove her consent. No further changes to the CenteMobile service have been reported since the case concluded.
