Editorial Clarification and Apology: Prism Construction and the Emin Pasha Hotel Dispute

The Editorial Desk, CEO East Africa Magazine 

On April 10, 2026, CEO East Africa Magazine published an article titled “How a Suspected Forged Presidential Directive Has Complicated the Emin Pasha Hotel Dispute in the UGX 34B Equity Bank Debt.”

In that report, it was alleged that the Ministry of Finance had halted settlement payments to Prism Construction—the parent company of Emin Pasha Hotel—due to an ongoing investigation into a suspected forged presidential directive.

We also reported allegations that the Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, was frustrating these payment efforts.

Following the publication of the article, our editorial team held a meeting with Mr. Charles Odere and Mr. Timothy Otim of Landwell Advocates, the legal representatives for Emin Pasha Hotel and its proprietor, Mr. Kennedy Erestus Lokule Losuk.

During this engagement, the legal team provided us with official and verified documentation from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, which fundamentally corrects our previous narrative and explicitly confirms the following facts regarding the government’s standing with Prism Construction Ltd:

• Through a formal letter dated March 11, 2026, authored by the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury, it is noted that following a harmonisation and verification exercise by the Attorney General, the government’s liability to Prism Construction was officially confirmed at UGX 5,830,944,791.
• The government subsequently disbursed UGX 5,508,828,955 to the company on October 15, 2025.
• The Ministry of Finance has formally advised the Ministry of Education and Sports to clear the remaining balance of UGX 1,277,642,996 (incorporating verified accrued interest) in the FY 2026/27 to fully conclude the matter.

Furthermore, the lawyers provided additional documentation indicating that beyond these verified sums, there are still pending and unverified claims currently under review, amounting to [Insert exact amount from the new letter here].

These official directives clearly demonstrate that the government’s settlement process with Prism Construction and Emin Pasha Hotel is active, verified, and progressing, completely contradicting the preliminary information we received regarding halted payments and forgery investigations.

We unreservedly retract the assertions made in our previous article suggesting that payments were stalled due to financial impropriety or investigations into forged directives.

CEO East Africa Magazine extends its sincere apologies to Prism Construction Ltd, Emin Pasha Hotel, and Mr. Kennedy Erestus Lokule Losuk for the inaccuracies contained in our initial report and for any inconvenience, distress, or misunderstanding this coverage may have caused them, their partners, and the wider business community.

As a publication dedicated to providing reliable and authoritative business news in Uganda and the wider region, we are committed to factual reporting. When new evidence comes to light that contradicts our initial reporting, we believe it is our utmost responsibility to set the record straight swiftly and transparently.

Management,CEO East Africa Magazine