Among, Mpuuga taken to court over service award 

The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, and five Commissioners of Parliament have been taken to the Anti-Corruption Court over the controversial service award the latter allegedly received.
The commissioners include Nyendo-Mukungwe MP Mathias Mpuuga, Bukooli County Central MP Solomon Silwany, Rubanda Woman MP Prossy Mbabazi Akampurira, and Zombo Woman MP Esther Afoyochan. 

Mr Mpuuga, the former Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, allegedly pocketed Shs500m in service award while the other commissioners each received Shs400m.
The group, which is being privately prosecuted by city lawyer Hassan Male Mabirizi, faces several charges, including money laundering, theft, obtaining money by pretence, cheating, conspiracy to effect unlawful purpose, and conspiracy to defraud.

In an April 15 affidavit, Mr Mabirizi avers that meeting of the five commissioners to pass the service award minutes was unlawful as it was contrary to the Constitution and the Administration of Parliament Act.
He said the service award should have been brought by way of motion by the government to Parliament and the legislators would have deliberated upon the matter.

 “I know that the code-naming the payment ‘one-time pay-off service award’ was a fraudulent trick to conceal and hide the illegality and criminality of the payment to which the accused persons are liable,” Mr Mabirizi said.
He added: “After it became public knowledge, on March 1, 2024, A1 Mathias Mpuuga issued a statement justifying the unlawful payment, claiming that it was lawful. I know that the above payments constitute offences of money laundering.”

Under Count Seven of conspiracy to effect unlawful purpose, the charge sheet states that Mr Mpuuga, Mr Silwany, Ms Akampurira, Ms Afoyochan, and Ms Among on May 2022, by deceit and fraudulent means, conspired to defraud the public, Parliament, Consolidated Fund and taxpayers of Shs1.7b as a one-time pay off service award.

Mr Mabirizi now wants the Anti-Corruption Court to issue criminal summonses against the group to appear for the corruption charges to be read out to them and thereafter be committed to the High Court for trial.
By press time last evening, the case file was awaiting allocation to a judicial officer.