Prime
DPP drops corruption charges against Ntambi
The head of Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), Ms Sylvia Muwebwa Ntambi, at parliament on June 15, 2020. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Justice Jane Frances Abodo has withdrawn corruption charges against Ms Ntambi. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- In a January 18 notice to the Anticorruption Court, Justice Abodo withdrew 14 charges against Ms Ntambi, hardly three months after she was committed to the High Court for trial.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Justice Jane Frances Abodo, has withdrawn corruption charges against the chairperson of Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), Ms Sylvia Muwebwa Ntambi.
In a January 18 notice to the Anticorruption Court, Justice Abodo withdrew 14 charges against Ms Ntambi, hardly three months after she was committed to the High Court for trial.
“Take notice that government of Uganda intends that the proceedings against Accused 10 shall not continue,” reads the court document titled ‘Nolle prosequi’, a Latin phrase meaning “will no longer prosecute”.
The group appeared before High Court Judge Margaret Tibulya yesterday.
Last year, Ms Ntambi was arraigned in court on accusations of embezzlement, causing financial loss, conspiracy to defraud, abuse of office and corruption in regard to mismanagement of millions of taxpayers’ money.
Ms Ntambi, who was out on bail, was jointly charged with nine other interdicted employees of EOC.
The nine suspects include former senior personal secretary to the chairperson, Ms Agnes Enid Kamahoro, Mujuni Mpitsi (secretary) Moses Mugabe (senior monitoring and evaluation officer), Harriet Byangire (senior accountant), Ronnie Kwesiga (actTing accounts assistant), Evans Jjemba (principal compliance officer), Manasseh Kwihangana (senior compliance officer), Sarah Nassanga (office attendant) and Sunday Nicholas Olwor.
Meanwhile, the court has directed the nine persons to return on March 9 to plead to the charges afresh after the charge sheet was amended.
Prosecution alleges that the accused committed the offences between 2018 and 2019 at EOC offices in Kampala and stole various amounts of money belonging to government or caused financial loss to government due to their negligence.
OTHER SUSPECTS
The nine suspects include former senior personal secretary to the chairperson, Ms Agnes Enid Kamahoro, Mujuni Mpitsi (secretary) Moses Mugabe (senior monitoring evaluation officer), Harriet Byangire (senior accountant), Ronnie Kwesiga (acting accounts assistant), Evans Jjemba (principal compliance officer), Manasseh Kwihangana (senior compliance officer), Sarah Nassanga (office attendant) and Sunday Nicholas Olwor.
