By Aggrey Baba
[Athief has forty days, but some cases seem to stretch much longer]. In one of the biggest financial scandals in Uganda’s history, the Anti-Corruption Court yesterday, granted bail to Accountant General Lawrence Semakula and five other officials from the Ministry of Finance, all accused in a UGX 60 billion Bank of Uganda fraud case.
Justice Vincent Ssemakadde, presiding over the Nakasero-based court, ruled in favor of their temporary freedom, setting strict bail conditions.
Semakula’s bail was secured by his wife, Jane Rose Semakula Ikiror, a Deputy Clerk to Parliament, and Walter Tumusiime, an official in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The judge directed the accused to deposit his passport, land title for his residence in Naguru, Kampala, and ordered his sureties to execute a UGX 500 million non-cash bond.
Other accused officials, including Jennifer Muhuruzi (Commissioner, Treasury Services), Bertina Nayebare (Research Assistant Accountant), and Judith Ashaba (Accountant), were also granted bail under various conditions, with strict travel restrictions.
Tony Yawe and Mark Kasiiku, both senior Information Systems officers, were denied bail due to their key roles in the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), which was allegedly exploited in the fraud.
The accused are facing charges of corruption, financial loss, electronic fraud, and money laundering, with some offenses carrying a maximum 15-year prison sentence. This scandal is a stark reminder of the deep-rooted corruption within Uganda’s financial institutions, where public funds often disappear like water in the sand.
While bail is a legal right, many Ugandans see this as a soft slap on the wrist for officials who were entrusted with the nation’s finances.
Whether justice be served, or will this be yet another case where the powerful walk free while taxpayers foot the bill, remains to be seen, and only time will tell, but for now, the suspects will be reporting to court once a month. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
