Former Employees Drag NGO Director to Court Over Unpaid Salaries and Alleged Labour Violations
Kampala, Uganda — A group of former employees have taken legal action against organizations linked to Turkish national Suleiman Hilmi Yarenoglu, accusing him of unfair dismissal, failure to pay salaries, and non-remittance of statutory deductions.
The cases, currently before the Industrial Court, are registered as:
· LDR No. 062/26 – Ngali Development Foundation
· LDR No. 063/26 – Holistic Empowerment Development Foundation (HEDEF)
· LDR No. 064/26 – Yuvam Pre-Schools International
According to court filings and testimonies from the complainants, the employees allege that they were terminated without due process after raising concerns about the operations of the organizations.
The complainants further claim that despite months of service, several staff members were not paid their salaries and benefits, and that statutory deductions such as NSSF contributions and PAYE taxes were either not remitted or inconsistently declared.
The organizations involved operate educational and charitable programs across several parts of Uganda, including Buziga, Entebbe, Jinja, Mbarara, and Lubowa.
One of the complainants, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that:
“We tried to raise concerns internally about compliance with labour laws and proper management, but instead we were dismissed without explanation.”
The employees are now seeking payment of outstanding salaries, remittance of statutory contributions, and compensation for unlawful termination.
The cases have attracted attention due to the scale of operations of the organizations and the number of affected employees. Labour and NGO sector observers note that the outcome could have wider implications for compliance and accountability among non-governmental organizations operating in Uganda.
Efforts to obtain a response from Mr. Yarenoglu and the management of the organizations were not immediately successful by the time of publication.
The matters are currently before the Industrial Court, and hearings are expected to proceed in due course.
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