Kampala Uganda – The Anti-Corruption Court in Nakasero has remanded the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Ms. Geraldine Ssali, to Luzira Prison over charges of abuse of office, conspiracy and causing financial loss to the government.
Ms. Ssali was arraigned before the court on Friday and charged alongside five others, including Igara East Constituency legislator Micheal Mawanda, Ignatius Wamakuyu Mudimi, Paul Akamba, and city lawyer Julius Kirya.
According to the prosecution, Ms. Ssali irregularly introduced Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society Ltd among the cooperatives to be compensated for war loss, causing financial loss to the government. Buyaka Growers was initially not among the beneficiaries in the supplementary budget dated August 4, 2021.
She also made irregular payments to the tune of Shs3.868 billion to Kirya and Company Advocates, a law firm belonging to co-suspect lawyer Julius Kirya Taitankonko, under the guise of compensating war victims of Buyaka Growers well knowing that her actions will cause government a financial loss because the said payment was in contravention of the Treasury instructions of 2017.
The court denied the accused persons bail, citing that their crimes are capital offenses that only the High Court can handle. They will remain on remand until they can apply for bail in a higher court.
Ms. Ssali was arrested on Thursday and interrogated for hours by the Crime Intelligence Department (CID) before being arraigned in court. Her co-accused have been on remand for a month now.
The case has sparked concern about corruption and financial irregularities within government ministries and departments.
