Former Uganda Cranes captain Andy Mwesigwa is facing the possible loss of his school, AMESCO High School in Bugwanya Village, Wakiso District, after a loan he obtained to develop the institution reportedly accumulated to Shs1.3 billion.
Mwesigwa says the school, which he built from earnings from his football career, is his main investment for retirement. He is now appealing for government intervention as ABC Capital Bank moves to recover the outstanding debt.
Speaking to the media, Mwesigwa said he secured a loan from a financial institution in Kampala to complete construction of the school in 2019. However, the timing of the loan was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.
“We signed the loan agreement in December 2019 but I received the money in February 2020. After about two weeks, the government announced a lockdown,” he said.
Mwesigwa said he was required to repay about Shs480 million and continued making payments during the lockdown whenever he could, sometimes depositing Shs2 million or Shs5 million.
When schools reopened, he said, he managed to clear loan arrears amounting to Shs230 million.
The former Uganda Cranes captain later began dealing with ABC Capital Bank after the institution took over his loan from the original financial institution.
However, Mwesigwa claims the terms of the loan subsequently changed, with the interest rate increasing from 23 per cent to 30 per cent.
He said the interest and other charges have since caused the amount owed to rise sharply, with the bank now demanding Shs1.3 billion.
Mwesigwa said he is struggling to understand how the debt reached the current figure and fears losing the school, which he considers his most important investment after retiring from football.
He also alleged that some people within the sports fraternity are working against him and targeting the investments he made during his playing career.
“They are already advertising my property and they are auctioning it,” he said.
Mwesigwa has appealed to the government to intervene in the matter and help protect his school from being auctioned.
