The management of Urwibutso Enterprises remains unsatisfied by the ruling passed by a Ugandan court, which freed people who counterfeited its flagship product Akabanga.

Akabanga is a hot chilli product from Rwanda that has won international recognition for its delicious spicy taste.

After learning about their product being counterfeited by individuals in Uganda, the company sued the culprits. However, the Makindye court recently ruled in favour of the accused and set them free. Urwibutso Enterprises has questioned this ruling.

“There were many inconsistencies in the case and we are not satisfied with the ruling and the way the case was handled,” said Isae Umuremyi, the marketing manager of Urwibutso Enterprises.

Late last year, the company complained about the way the case was being handled in Uganda, saying despite the case being clear-cut and evidence being available to prove the crime, the hearing was stalling. The company believes they would have had a fairer hearing at a Rwandan court.

READ: Rwandan firm takes Ugandan company to court over counterfeits

Akabanga was officially awarded an international trademark in 2015. This enabled the company to sell the product in foreign markets. Since then, the brand is now being sold on Amazon.com — a global online shopping platform, where it is getting great reviews from consumers.

However, the regional and international recognition has made the product vulnerable to unscrupulous people who have begun counterfeiting it and selling it to different markets.

Urwibutso also has other popular products like Agashya — a potent passion juice product. The company is owned by Rwandan entrepreneur Sina Gerald.

When asked if they plan to appeal the ruling, the company said it is yet to come up with a concrete decision about that.

The company’s other products are also being counterfeited.

“Our other products like Agashya are also being counterfeited. Police recently arrested some people in Nyabugogo and we are trying to work with the authorities.

However, it becomes harder to work with law enforcement in other countries especially Uganda,” said Mr Gerald.

The fraudsters made Akabanga in a warehouse and had started selling it cheaply in Kampala. The company’s marketing manager said this had started spoiling their market in Uganda, because even though the counterfeit bore similarities to the original products, its quality was not the same.

When Rwanda Today asked Stephen Ruzibiza, the CEO of the Private Sector Federation of Rwanda, how they are helping, he said one of the possibilities is pushing for a review of the judgment by the court in Uganda, and also get a copy of the judgment through lawyers.

“We shall consult lawyers to get a copy of the judgment and we follow it up from there, it will be unfortunate if the ruling was not done in a prudent manner, we can also follow it up at the bilateral level” said Mr Ruzibiza.

“The company can also appeal the ruling at a higher court,” he added.

Several products have fallen prey to counterfeiters and the Private Sector Federation said it is coming up with measures to counter this trend.

Mr Ruzibiza said a task force has been set up to look into this issue.

“It is not only Urwibutso products that are being counterfeited, even others like Tecno have approached us. It is a growing issue, which stakeholders are taking seriously,” he said.