By Mulengera Reporters
At the Wandegeya-based Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court, people who had come to attend Court were pleasantly surprised they all of a sudden were made to realize that the trial session they had come for wasn’t going to happen. Why? The DPP had, in writing, opted for Nolle Prose Qui-meaning prosecution was abandoning its case and declaring the accused persons free.
The detailed reasons for dropping all the criminal charges against all the 10 accused persons were not promptly given by a representative from the ODPP who merely stood up and proclaimed to Court that she had been instructed to withdraw all the charges and come to Court to verbally communicate the same.
Gratefully, it later turned out that her boss Jane Frances Abodo, the outgoing DPP had, in writing, on 22nd October 2025 communicated to the trial Judge as much.
Under Article 120 of the Constitution, the DPP is permitted to discontinue prosecution of any criminal trial, which automatically lets the accused persons off the hook.
In the instant case, the trial related to former Entebbe-based NAGRIC Executive Director Dr. Charles Lagu who, almost five years ago, got humiliated by being arrested by operatives from State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) under Col Edith Nakalema.
Nakalema’s was a controversial move which attracted plenty of condemnation from NRM youth leaders and MPs who unanimously protested that Dr. Lagu was being interrupted at the time many stakeholders believed he was doing a good job, rallying key decision-makers to raise funding to revamp government stock farms and amplify GoU’s livestock breeding programs across the country.
On the charge sheet, Lagu was accused of abuse of office, causing financial loss and conspiracy to defraud contrary to provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act and the Penal Code Act provisions.
His woes began shortly after he had disagreed with then Agriculture Minister Vincent Ssempijja who was his political supervisor. The disagreement started after Lagu resisted orders to facilitate movement of government livestock from the state-owned farms. He also refused to support proposals to give some of the government land at the Kasolwe farm to investors who were being supported by some of his supervisors in the NAGRIC Governing Board and mother Ministry.
In the end, the Minister wrote to Col Nakalema calling on her to investigate alleged impropriety at NAGRIC. The accusations were that Lagu and nine other officials at NAGRIC had engaged in fraudulent procurement of semen from the US to facilitate cattle breeding programs without strictly complying with the PPDA Act and other relevant laws. They pleaded not guilty and consistently denied all the charges.
The co-accused with whom Lagu was claimed to have committed the impugned offences included Mukani Ezekiel Phillip, Dr. Patrick Mawadri, Dr. Anthony Wildfred Ntate, Tadeo Mbaziira, Dr. Charles Ezati, Benda K Katiti, Clement Nuwamanya, Mathias Wakulira and Yasinta Nabukenya. Whereas many of these lost their jobs, a few managed to crawl back into the Entebbe-based Centre.
The DPP representative informed the Judge during the Thursday morning Court session that the prosecutor had withdrawn all the charges against all the 10 accused persons.
The Judge went ahead to validate the same dropping of charges and ordered the immediate return of the accused persons’ passports plus any money that is supposed to have been paid to secure bail release for any of the accused persons.
Although no detailed explanation was given by the prosecutor’s representative, the withdraw of charges possibly speaks to the fact that DPP was stampeded into preferring charges against Lagu and his co-accused, only to gradually realize there was simply no evidence that could sustain the trial. There was merely pressure to have the targeted officials indicted without the prosecutor being able to autonomously get satisfied there was sufficient evidence to sustain the trial.
Lagu and other NAGRIC bosses are merely the latest to have criminal charges against them dropped as days prior, other public officials like Minister Amos Lugolobi and ex-Mubs Principal Prof Wasswa Balunywa had criminal charges previously slapped on them, controversially dropped. Lagu had been represented by defence lawyers Grace Karuhanga and Osmond Atwiine from the National Theatre-based Mevin Advocates.
It’s being speculated in the legal circles that the ex-Trade Ministry Permanent Secretary and ex-KCCA officials could be the next beneficiaries of the ongoing nolle prose qui bonanza-as some observers have come to characterize the same. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
