The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Uganda’s Anti-Corruption Court has for a second time handed a 5-year jail sentence to the former Principle Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Geoffrey Kazinda.
This after finding him guilty of conspiring with three others to defraud government of sh316 million worth of fuel drawn by non-existent OPM vehicles that were meant to carry relief to disaster victims.
This is the second time Kazinda is convicted by the Anti-Corruption Court the first one being In June 2013 (see full court proceeding bottom) when he was found guilty of forging the then Permanent Secretary Pius Bigirimana’s signature and was sentenced to five years which he has since completed.
Kazinda still has a pending case file for trial where he is jointly charged with officials of the Finance Ministry for allegedly misappropriating sh21 billion from the NRDP funds meant to rehabilitate the war torn Northern Uganda.
Co-accused get fines ranging from sh10m to sh50m
Justice Lawrence Gidudu on Wednesday sentenced Kanzinda’s co-accused persons to fines ranging from sh10 to 50 million reasoning that they jumped on the theft bandwagon after their master planner Kazinda had crafted the plot.
Beatrice Keezabu a clerk from the OPM will pay sh50 million after the judge found out that she facilitated the said theft by entering false enteries in Fuel Order Forms well knowing that no fuel had been drawn .
Other convicts Shamim Masembe had Hussein Katumwa will have to pay sh10m each for helping Kazinda realise the fruits of his crimes as they let their fuel station, former Caltex Ntinda, to be used as the conduit of the theft.
The judge however ordered that if Keezabu, Masembe and Katumwa fail to pay their respective fines, each serves a one year imprisonment term at Luzira prison.
The four convicts have also been ordered to refund to government the stolen sh316 million shillings on top of not being employed in public service for a period of ten years.
Kazinda convicted again for stealing OPM funds https://t.co/YTJghJ6Agy pic.twitter.com/XzGYVjnf3U
— The Independent (@UGIndependent) May 31, 2017
RULING in 2013 case
Ant-Corruption Court 2013 ruling in Kazinda Case by The Independent Magazine on Scribd
