PAC directs CID to probe Judiciary accounts

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has summoned Grace Akullo, the Director Criminal Investigations (CID) to take part in proceedings with Judiciary officials following a whistleblower petition and suspected collusion to embezzle 34 billion Shillings.

Nathan Nandala Mafabi, the Committee Chairperson made the decision following scrutiny of the Judiciary expenditure of the 34 billion Shillings which the Auditor General queried as money mischarged.

Nandala noted that last week, Thursday 27, his committee received a petition in line with the alleged misappropriation of funds by the Permanent Secretary Kagole Kivumbi in connivance with other officials in the Judiciary.

The money according to Kivumbi was spent on Court operational funds, mediation costs, Court sessions, imprest, locus visits, HIV medical allowances and expenditure for Monitoring and Evaluation since these items have no direct budget lines.

However, a scrutiny of a detailed document indicating how the funds had been spent revealed that some of the funds had been wired to individual accounts of different Judiciary officers and Justices for reasons including office operational funds, payment of tuition, medical fees among others.

“In a week, you have got over 100 million Shillings, next week you have another 100 million, what are you doing with it? We suspect forgery in the accounts and theft of public funds,”Nandala  said.

Nandala noted that the whistleblower information correlates with what his committee has partly discovered in the Judiciary accounts. 

Wilberforce Yaguma, the Kashari North MP said that the manner in which funds were treated is abnormal. He added that it was unfortunate to have the Principal Judge Yorokamu Bamwine as one of the officers who benefited from the scam.

Nandala said that the CID Director whose officers are already attached to the committee is required to appear tomorrow when the Judiciary officials are expected to return so that she picks interest in the matter and carry out an investigation.

The move by PAC to request Director CID’s involvement did not go well with Judiciary PS Kagole Kivumbi who requested that the committee also invites the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) and Director Public Prosecution (DPP) to be part of the meeting saying that the officials had handled an earlier petition against him.

He noted that he had not been privy to issues raised in the whistleblower’s petition to the committee and as well have time to respond to the matter.

However, Nandala said that his committee was handling a fresh petition and only interested in the Director CID since it’s her office attached to accountability proceedings in parliament committees. He further said that details of the petition would be made available in the presence of the Director CID.

Nandala also noted that the petitioners would also interface with the CID on their claims.

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