Bicycle scam: Ex-PS Kashaka loses Supreme Court appeal

Former permanent secretary in the Local Government ministry John Muhanguzi Kashaka will serve his remaining jail term in Luzira prison after he lost an appeal before the Supreme Court for his role in the Shs4.2 billion bicycle procurement scandal.

Five Supreme Court justices led by Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal that had also upheld the jailing of Kashaka for 10 years.

Kashaka was found culpable alongside former principal accountant Henry Bamutura whose 10-year jail sentence was also upheld.

“We are persuaded by the evidence and the law that the 1st appellant (Kashaka) and the 2nd appellant (Bamutura) were like peas in one pod and their culpability cannot be separated, even if it were to be done surgically,” the justices ruled in part on Tuesday.

“Indeed, as submitted by learned counsel for the respondent that if the 2nd respondent had not jointly authorised the payments as co-signatory to the accounts of the ministry of local government, no payments would have been possible,” they added.

The justices said there is no way payment for the bicycles would have been made by one of the accused.
 “We, therefore, find that the learned justices of the Court of Appeal correctly evaluated the evidence and rightly came to the conclusion that the 2nd appellant was culpable as the 1stappellant,” they ruled.

Also in their judgment, the justices faulted the Court of Appeal for erroneously upholding the conviction of Sam Emorut Erongot, the former assistant commissioner policy and planning.

Thus, they set aside his conviction and the joint monetary compensation award he had been ordered to pay before ordering for his release.

“It is our considered opinion that the learned justices of Appeal erred in holding the third appellant (Emorut) liable for the award of the contract to AITEL when his committee, the Evaluation Committee, does not have powers to award a contact,” held the Supreme Court justices. They added: “Having allowed the grounds of appeal filed by the third appellant, it follows that the third appellant was wrongly convicted. Therefore, the conviction, sentence and award of compensation against the third appellant are hereby set aside.”

The other justices were Prof Lillian Tibatemwa, Percy Night Tuhaise, Mike Chibita and Faith Mwondha.

Kashaka was in 2014 convicted by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire, then of the Anti-Corruption Court, after he was found guilty of having a hand in the bungled procurement deal of 70,000 bicycles that were meant to be used by village LC1 chairpersons ahead of the 2011 Presidential elections.

To that effect, the High Court sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment.
It was not clear how much longer time Kashaka was going to spend in Luzira since he had in the course of his serving the sentence been released on bail.

Background 
Kashaka along with Bamutura were charged with abuse of their offices when they allegedly signed a final contract with the bicycle supply firm Amman Industrial Tools and Equipment Ltd (Aitel) for delivery of 70,000 bicycles, without contacting and approval of the Contracts Committee. About Shs4.6 billion was paid to the supply firm but no single bicycle has been delivered to date.