The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, Geraldine Ssali, along with three Members of Parliament, a trade ministry official, and a lawyer, have been committed to the High Court for trial and remanded to Luzira Prison on charges of abuse of office, causing financial loss, conspiracy to defraud, and money laundering.
Ssali was arrested on Thursday by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit in collaboration with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) of the Uganda Police Force. She joins MPs Michael Mawanda Maranga, Mudiimi Wamakuyu, Paul Akamba, lawyer Julius Kirya Taitankonko, and Leonard Kavundira, a Ministry of Trade official, who were previously charged for diverting over UGX 3.4 billion meant for war loss compensation to the Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society.
The State House Anti-Corruption Unit, working with CID and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), arraigned Ssali before the Anti-Corruption Court on charges of abuse of office, causing financial loss, and conspiracy to defraud. The DPP amended the charge sheet to include new charges such as money laundering, which is triable only by the High Court.
Prosecution alleges that Ssali, in abuse of her office, irregularly added Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society to the list of recipients for war loss compensation in the FY 2021/22, despite it not being initially listed. She is accused of making irregular payments amounting to UGX 3.87 billion to Kirya and Co. Advocates, violating Treasury instructions.
Ssali allegedly conspired with her co-accused to divert UGX 3.4 billion meant for Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society to Kirya & Co. Advocates, causing financial loss to the government.
New alternative charges have been brought against the accused individuals who are already on remand. These include receiving stolen property against MPs Mawanda and Wamakuyu, stealing by an agent and money laundering against Kirya, and abuse of office against Kavundira.
The three MPs, along with two other accused individuals, were initially charged with these offenses over two weeks ago and were at the stage of being granted bail. However, the introduction of these new charges means they must reapply for bail before the High Court’s Anti-Corruption Division.
