Adriko Yovan, the Member of Parliament representing Vurra County in Arua District, has been sentenced to six months in civil prison for defaulting on a loan amounting to shs. 55.6 million that he obtained in 2011.

The sentencing took place in the Arua High Court, where Deputy Registrar Leo Karungi presided over the case and ordered Adriko’s commitment to Arua government prison for the specified duration. This legal action followed an arrest warrant issued due to Adriko’s failure to appear in court and justify his repayment default to Jubilee Finance Limited.

According to Richard Bundu, an attorney from Bundu and Co. Advocates representing Jubilee Finance Limited, Adriko initially borrowed shs. 52.7 million with a 15% interest rate, agreeing to repay the amount within one month. However, he failed to fulfill this obligation. After a year of noncompliance, Jubilee Finance Limited tried to engage Adriko in recovering their funds.

“He became evasive, providing false whereabouts and making it difficult to communicate with him,” stated Bundu. “This compelled us to initiate legal proceedings against him. Summons were issued, served in person and via email, yet he remained unresponsive, resulting in a default judgment by the court.”

Upon learning of the default judgment on August 18, 2022, ordering him to repay Jubilee Finance Limited, Adriko made two installments totaling shs. 20 million, reducing the outstanding amount to shs. 48,143,900. However, on Thursday, October 12, 2023, Adriko was deceived by court bailiff Paul Mawa of T/A Vitality Associated, who lured him to Slumberland Hotel under the guise of a land transaction. He was subsequently apprehended.

According to court documents, Adriko is obligated to settle the principal amount of shs. 48,143,900 and additional costs of shs. 7.5 million, resulting in a total of shs. 55.6 million.