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State Attorney charged with soliciting Shs100m in land deal
Mr Sam Tusubira (in jacket) at the Anti-Corruption court. Photo | State House Anti- Corruption Unit
What you need to know:
- Court documents indicate that the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, in collaboration with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), arrested Mr Tusubira following a complaint against him.
A corruption scandal has rocked the Ministry of Justice, with a state attorney charged and remanded to Luzira Prison for allegedly soliciting a bribe of Shs 100 million from a litigant involved in a land dispute.
Mr Sam Tusubira, 33, a state attorney at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, was arraigned before the Anti-Corruption
Court today, presided over by Grade One Magistrate Ms Esther Asiimwe, who read the corruption charges against him. He denied the sixteen charges and was advised to apply for bail.
Through his lawyers, Mr Tusubira applied for temporary release, arguing that the offences are bailable, he has substantial sureties, he has a fixed place of residence, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, he was remanded to Luzira Prison pending the state’s response to his bail application.
According to the prosecution, on October 21, 2023, in Kampala City, Mr Tusubira, while employed as a state attorney, solicited Shs2 million from Ronald Yawe as facilitation to handle and manage HCCS No. 0184 of 2023. It is further alleged that he accepted Shs1.02 million from Mr Yawe as gratification for managing his file.
Prosecutors Teopista Nnam and Viola Tusingwire, from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, stated that Mr Tusubira received several bribes totaling Shs100 million to manage Mr Yawe’s land case between October 21, 2023, and January 23, 2024, in Kampala.
Court documents indicate that the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, in collaboration with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), arrested Mr Tusubira following a complaint against him.
It is alleged that while representing the government in court, Mr Tusubira solicited a bribe of Shs 100 million from a plaintiff who had sued the Ministry of Lands and the Attorney General for the irregular cancellation of his title, in order to assist the plaintiff in obtaining compensation.
Documents reveal that at the time of his arrest, Mr Tusubira had received approximately Shs43 million from Mr Yawe.
