The future of Hima Cement Ltd is in doubt after the Court of Appeal upheld a decision by the High Court that conferred its mining rights to East African Gold Sniffing Company Ltd.

On March 26, 2013, Justice Eldad Mwangusya of the High Court, annulled Hima's mining rights to limestone deposits in Kasese, where the company had commissioned a $120m (about Shs446b) cement manufacturing plant in 2011 on grounds that Hima Cement Ltd is nonexistent.

Court of Appeal Justices Christopher Madama, Geoffrey Kiryabwire and Kenneth Kakuru have upheld the decision, dismissing an appeal that was filed by the Attorney General instead of Hima Cement's legal team.

On June 12, Justice Madrama, who wrote the Court of Appeal's lead judgment, didn't mince words, saying that since it's a fact that Hima Cement Ltd is a nonentity, the submissions from the Attorney General's legal team were simply academic.

According to Justice Madrama, the Attorney General did not purport to represent the commissioner who had initially issued the exploration license, but it was clearly challenging the decision declaring Hima Cement Ltd a nonentity.