Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Anti-corruption court in Kololo has set tough bail conditions for officials from the office of the Prime Minister who were implicated in the Kasese Blanket Scandal.
Three of the five officials, who include the undersecretary, Godfrey Kaima, the Principal Disaster Preparedness officer, Cyprian Dhikusooka and Kizito Mugerwa, the Procurement Officer allegedly procured and supplied substandard items to be distributed as a relief to the people of Kasese who were affected by floods after River Nyamwamba burst its banks.
Hundreds of residents had been rendered homeless by the floods that swept through their villages. The Office of the Prime Minister subsequently sent a consignment of blankets, tarpaulins, mosquito nets and beans to their rescue. But Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja questioned the quality of the items and directed that all officials responsible for the procurement should be held liable.
Nabbanja noted that the blankets were extremely light and they could not serve their intended purpose. She added that the nets were too small for anyone to use and that the beams were not good for human consumption.
Subsequently, three out of five people implicated in the scandal have been arraigned before the anti-corruption court in Kololo and charged with causing financial loss to the government. They all pleaded not guilty and applied for bail
Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro granted the accused persons a cash bail of 50 million Shillings each and asked them to surrender land titles of their respective homes and their passports. Their sureties were bonded at 500 million Shillings.
Before the ruling, two of the accused persons handed in their certificates of title to the court. The Chief Magistrate noted that even the third person needed to hand in the title as one of the conditions for bail. After the ruling, the accused were returned to the cells with their lawyers, friends and relatives standing confused in the parking yard of the court wondering how they could meet the set requirement.
“This is an indirect way of denying them bail,” Benedette Nambi, the Deputy Director at National Curriculum Development Centre who had stood surety to one of the accused persons commented in despair.
Meanwhile, David Mugamba, the state prosecutor, informed the court that inquiries are still ongoing and also asked the court for more time. He also asked the court to issue criminal summons against Rose Nakabugo, the Acting Commissioner for Disaster Preparedness, and Daudi Bukomooko, the Principal Assistant Secretary to compel them to appear in court in the next session.
Chief magistrate Joan Aciro issued the criminal summons and adjourned the matter to November 8, 2021.
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