Nalumansi just came from the bank, with brand new bank notes. Immediately she went to Mama Peshe’s shop to buy things for the house. She bought onions, rice and some cooking oil and handed over a straight clean brand new 50,000 note.
Mama Peshe spent about 10 mins looking for ‘balance’ and came back with very old and dirty notes. Nalumansi refused to touch the money and said she would not be mixing it with her new notes. Infact, she has told Mama Peshe that she would rather give back what she bought and take back her ‘clean’ 50k note. Mama Peshe has told her that she does not have any other money and she is not giving the money back, ‘mbu’ goods once sold are not returnable!
Was Nalumansi right to refuse the dirty money?
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?
The law (Bank of Uganda Act) says that the notes as long as they came from the bank are acceptable as money for buying and selling as long as they are not tampered with or damaged in a way that makes them hard to identify if they are genuine(real). For example, if you burn off the serial numbers or cut half the note away then you have damaged the note in such a way that it is not easy to know if it ‘real’ money or not.
When we talk about damage, we do not mean wear and tear from being used. What this means is that when money gets old, dirty, or torn because it has gone through many hands, it remains money. When it is damaged on purpose by writing on it, burning it or doing something illegal to it, then this is what we call damage or disfiguring of the money.
However, even when the money is old or dirty, it does not stop being money that should be accepted for transactions. In fact, if you reject money as being old or dirty, then you commit an offence and you could face a fine of 400,000 or imprisonment for a year.
So Nalumansi is wrong to reject money just because it was older than the money that she gave Mama Peshe. As long as the money she had been given had not been burnt or written she has no legal reason to refuse it. All money is the same as long as it is not tampered with or damaged.
Source: BarefootLaw
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