Sports State Minister Peter Ogwang and a retired Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officer are embroiled in a dispute over an alleged Shs20 million debt dating back about five years, with the minister threatening legal action over claims that he has failed to repay the money.
Mr Simon Julius Engeku, a retired lieutenant and former candidate for Kapir County in Ngora District, accuses Mr Ogwang of borrowing the money during an event in Soroti at which Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba was hosted.
Mr Engeku claims the minister approached him for the money to settle bills for some people invited to the event, promising to repay it later.
‘I gave the minister the money in presence of some reasonable persons as witnesses, but paying back the money has become a problem, my repeated reminders to my brother have not yielded any positive result,’ Mr Engeku said.
However, Mr Ogwang, the MP for Ngariam County in Katakwi District, has denied ever borrowing money from the retired officer and threatened to sue him for defamation.
The minister said attempts to portray him as indebted to Mr Engeku would not go unchallenged, giving the retired officer an opportunity to withdraw his statements or face him in court.
On Monday, October 27, 2026, Mr Ogwang, through his lawyers, Wamimbi Advocates and Solicitors, issued a notice of intention to sue Mr Engeku over a video posted on his TikTok account in which he alleges that the minister has refused to repay the Shs20 million.
‘Our client has become aware of a video published on your TikTok account in which you falsely allege that, approximately five years ago, during Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s visit to Teso, you advanced Shs20m to our client through certain intermediaries. Our client categorically denies the allegations and states that he has no knowledge of any transaction,’ the lawyers’ letter reads.
The lawyers described the statements as malicious and defamatory, arguing that they portray the minister as dishonest and as someone who fails to honour his financial obligations.
They demanded that Mr Engeku immediately remove the video from TikTok, issue a clear and factual clarification with equal prominence, and do so by Friday this week.
The lawyers warned that failure to comply would result in legal proceedings against him.
The dispute centres on sharply conflicting accounts of the alleged transaction. While Mr Engeku maintains that he lent the minister the money in the presence of witnesses, Mr Ogwang denies any knowledge of the transaction.
The minister’s threatened legal action now places the dispute over the alleged debt before a potential court process, although no court proceedings have been confirmed in the information available.