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Trade PS Ssali in police custody over Shs3.4b theft
Ministry of Trade PS, Geraldine Ssali in the dock at the anti-corruption court in Kampala on July 18, 2024. PHOTO/ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- She is likely to be charged on Friday, court authorities indicated.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Co-operatives, Geraldine Ssali Busulwa is in police custody over abuse of office, causing financial loss and conspiracy.
Ms Ssali appeared before the chief magistrate at the Nakasero based Anti-Corruption court on July 18 to have the charges read to her together with her co-accused.
The other accused in the case include three Members of Parliament (MPs) Michael Mawanda (Igara East), Ignatius Mudimi Wamakuyu (Elgon County) and Paul Akamba (Busiki County) alongside lawyer Julius Taitankoko Kirya and Leonard Kavundira, the principal cooperative officer from the Ministry of Trade.
All the above are battling allegations related to theft of over Shs3.4 billion.
Ministry of Trade PS Geraldine Ssali being escorted by police officers at the anti-corruption court in Kampala on July 18, 2024. She is accused along with three MPS, a lawyer and a government official of theft of public funds. PHOTO / ABUBAKER LUBOWA
But on Thursday, trial Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro declined to read charges to Ssali and instead sent her back to police, awaiting a ruling on the legality of an amended charge sheet presented by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
“The ruling in regard to the new amended charge sheet on whether it should be allowed or not only for the prosecution to change its position or mind from producing Ssali tomorrow saying that she is now in the dock and yet she is on the amended charge sheet that has been vehemently contested,” Aciro ruled.
She added that “without a ruling at this moment and considering the time, prosecution should abide by its word and submissions and represent A6 (Ssali) tomorrow as you have stated after a ruling is delivered. I'm adjourning this matter to 2:00pm tomorrow so that I can also look at the cases and laws that both parties have cited."
The rest of the accused persons were further remanded until July 19.
In the amended charge sheet, prosecution alleges that Ssali during the Financial Year 2021/ 2022 and 2022/2023, while employed as a permanent secretary and assigned the role of an accounting officer in the Ministry of Trade, irregularly introduced Buyaka Growers co-operative society Ltd among the co-operatives to be compensated by government for the war loss yet it had not been listed for a supplementary budget of August 2021.
It is further alleged that Ssali in performance of her duties made irregular payments of more than Shs3 billion to Kirya and company advocates, a law firm belonging to co-suspect Kirya Taitankonko. The firm was disguised for compensation under war victims of Buyaka Growers co-operatives. The charge sheet shows that Ssali was aware that her actions would cause government financial loss because the said payment was in contravention of the Treasury instructions of 2017.
The charge sheet further indicates that Ssali conspired with the other accused to defraud government of Shs3.4 billion which was intended to compensate war victims for Buyaka Growers Co-operative society.
The defense team are contesting an amendment to the charge sheet by DPP Jane Frances Abodo that introduced a new count of receiving stolen property against the jailed MPs, stealing by agent and money laundering for the lawyer and abuse of office for the remanded cooperatives officer.
The defence team says the DPP acted in bad faith to hold their clients long on remand for almost a month.
One of the defence lawyers, Evans Ochieng also told court that the charge of money laundering cannot be used to prejudice the others' freedom because they are accused individually.
