MTN Uganda Ordered to Pay Over Shs. 11.3 Billion fine to VAS Garage
kakooza Peter
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
MTN Uganda has been ordered by the High Court’s Commercial Division to pay more than Shs. 11.3 billion to VAS Garage Limited. The court found MTN guilty of breaching their contract, practicing unfair competition, and wrongfully deleting important subscriber data.
The ruling, made by Justice Stephen Mubiru on April 21, 2025, came after a legal battle that started in 2014. Back then, VAS Garage, a licensed value-added services (VAS) provider, signed a deal with MTN Uganda to deliver mobile content using shortcodes approved by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). According to the agreement, VAS Garage would provide and manage content for MTN subscribers, while MTN handled billing and shared 40% of the revenue with VAS Garage.
However, in 2015, MTN deleted the subscription database built by VAS Garage, claiming it acted on UCC instructions to roll out a "Do Not Disturb" (DND) feature.
But the court and UCC later clarified that MTN's actions were not authorized. The court noted that MTN unfairly removed VAS Garage’s access to subscribers while continuing to promote its own VAS platform, MTN Play.
Justice Mubiru said MTN used its powerful position to push VAS Garage out of the market. He stated clearly that the deleted data, which VAS Garage had developed and maintained at a cost, was not MTN’s property. The court also rejected MTN’s arguments that the matter had been settled earlier or that it was too late to sue.
The court awarded VAS Garage:
Shs. 1.26 billion for unpaid invoices
Shs. 300 million for marketing costs
Shs. 8.37 billion in lost income for nearly 2.5 years
Shs. 1.39 billion in general damages
In total, the damages add up to Shs. 11,328,293,339, not including the 19% annual interest that will continue until full payment is made. MTN was also ordered to cover all legal fees.
Bigger Pattern of Issues
This isn’t the first time MTN has faced legal trouble. In Nigeria, the company was fined $5.2 billion in 2015 for not cutting off unregistered SIM cards—later reduced to $1.7 billion. In South Africa, MTN faced a possible class-action lawsuit in 2022 for billing users without consent. In Afghanistan, MTN was named in a U.S. lawsuit over alleged payments to armed groups.
These repeated issues show a worrying pattern in how MTN does business, especially in markets where it holds a lot of power.
Read also: KFC Uganda’s Losses allegedly amounts shs 16 billion since 2018
Justice Mubiru's decision is seen as a major win for small tech service providers. It proves that telecom giants must follow the law and respect contracts. The court also made it clear that even when government tribunals are not in place, regular courts can step in to give justice.
As of now, MTN Uganda has not made any public comments about the ruling.
