Accountant General Remanded Over BoU Heist

The Anti-Corruption Court has remanded eight people for causing financial loss to the government.

According to the prosecution, Accountant General Lawrence Ssemakula, Commissioner Treasury Services Jenifer Muhuruzi, and the senior IT officer Yawe Tonny being employed in the Ministry of Finance neglected to put in place measures to safeguard public funds hence resulting in a 60 billion Shillings loss to the Government of Uganda.    

Furthermore, the prosecution alleges that Yawe manipulated payment instruction files from the International Development Association in Washington and specifically allegedly altered the intended payment of $652,588.20 to Road-way Company Ltd in Poland, claiming it was for the payment of recycling plant systems and machinery, despite knowing that this action would cause a loss to the government.    

Other suspects were also charged with being accomplices to the commission of corruption whose intended purpose, the prosecution claims was to gainfully and illicitly enrich Road-Way Company.  These include  Kusiima Deborah Dorothy, Judith Ashaba, Bettina Nayebare, and Mark  Kasiiku an IT systems officer. 

Chief Magistrate Rachael Nakyazze informed the suspects that she lacked the jurisdiction to hear their plea and that they would instead enter their plea before a High Court judge, who would also consider their bail application. 

The group are facing 11 counts including corruption, causing Financial Loss, Electronic  Fraud and Money Laundering, but the prosecution represented by Richard Birivumbuka told the court that police investigations are still ongoing. 

They were remanded to Luzira prison until February 18th. Criminal summons have been issued against Pedson Twesingomwe 45 years resident of Namulanda, who is an assistant commissioner accounts who has not been present in court.   

The BoU money heist was first described as a hacker’s handwork which was later disproved by CID’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Once CID discovered that it was not hacking but a well-orchestrated fraudulent payment, President Yoweri Museveni directed DIS to join the probe.

By the end of last year, 21 staff at BOU, the Ministry of Finance and the accountant general had been interrogated, and their electronic gadgets including mobile phones and laptops had been confiscated and subjected to examination.

There is also a probe clue that the money that is said to have ended in Asian countries was actually withdrawn and clandestinely returned to Ugandan beneficiaries in cash or items procured for them.