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Court acquits former Soroti University secretary convicted of fraud
Ms Ruth Achimo, Soroti University Secretary, at Soroti High Court during court proceedings in February 2018. PHOTO | GEORGE MURON
What you need to know:
- Ms Achimo expressed her belief that the prosecution against her was driven by malice from individuals seeking to remove her from her position as university secretary.
The Court of Appeal has overturned the 2023 conviction of Ruth Achimo Etibot, the former Soroti University Secretary, who was previously sentenced to prison on corruption charges.
On Tuesday, the panel of three justices—Geoffrey Kiryabwire, Muzamiru M. Kibeedi, and Oscar J. Kihika—exonerated Ms Achimo, finding that the trial judge, Margaret Tibulya, had erred in her April 6, 2023 ruling. The justices concluded that Judge Tibulya's decision to sentence Ms Achimo to Luzira Prison was flawed.
Ms Achimo had been convicted for allegedly misusing her office during the 2017-2018 financial year. The charges included entering into a retainer agreement with Ms Okurut & Co Advocates and paying the firm Shs1 billion in legal fees, a sum reportedly not budgeted for and considered a diversion of funds from capital development.
Additional charges included diverting Shs553 million intended for capital development to pay university council members, and making false entries in a performance report for fourth quarter of the 2017-2018 financial year.
In their ruling, the justices found that Judge Tibulya had failed to thoroughly evaluate the evidence presented and relied on an audit report prepared by an unqualified person, which led to a miscarriage of justice. They noted that the audit report, though signed by the Auditor General, was authored by someone who was not a registered professional accountant and had not completed the ACCA paper.
Furthermore, the report was prepared without proper authorisation from the university council and was viewed as having been used maliciously against Ms Achimo.
The justices also highlighted that Ms Achimo had not been given an opportunity to address the findings of the audit report before it was used against her, which constituted a significant legal oversight.
Regarding the payment to university council members, the court noted that none of the recipients denied receiving the funds.
Ms Achimo expressed her belief in a statement on Thursday that the prosecution against her was driven by malice from individuals seeking to remove her from her position as university secretary.
As of now, neither the Soroti University Council nor the university vice-chancellor has issued a statement following the Court of Appeal's decision.
