The Anti-corruption Court has ruled that the three former officials of Ministry of Public Service in the Pensions Scam case are guilty of causing a financial loss to government.
Jimmy Lwamafa who was then Permanent Secretary, together with Christopher Obey then Principal Accountant and Stephen Kiwanuka Kunsa then Commissioner Compensation Department, were indicted with 10 counts that include causing financial loss, abuse of office,false accounting, conspiracy to defraud and diversion of public funds. They were accused of irregularly budgeting sh88 billion for NSSF and paying it to ghost pension pensioners.
Court ordered the officials to refund sh50 billion together. Lwamafa was given seven years imprisonment, Kiwanuka Kunsa five years and Obey 10 years.
They have been on trial since November 2015. The alleged crime took place over two financial years of 2010/11 and 2011/12
Justice Lawrence Gidudu delivered the judgement and ignored an earlier decision of the two court Assessors who advised him to acquit the accused officials.
The assessors in the corruption case in September advised the Anti-Corruption Court to find them innocent and acquit them of all charges.
Prosecution maintains the said money was paid to ghost pensioners, and that the accused officials were responsible for authorizing this same payment. The said the officials requisitoned for the said money well knowing public servants do not contribute to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) pension scheme.
In the opinion of the two assessors, Vincent Okech and Stanley Kurong, no evidence has been adduced by prosecution to show that the said item NSSF was ever discussed in any meeting included in the accused’s work plan and budgetary estimates for financial years 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 as alleged.
They explained that the accused only requisitioned for funds for gratuity and pension of teachers, soldiers and beneficiaries of the East African Community, but not NSSF.
They add that the evidence on record, regarding the entry of data in the Output Budget Tool (OBT) at the Ministry of finance, shows that only the then Assistant Commissioner Policy and Planning Joses Tegyeza had access to the payment system since he was the officer nominated from Public Service to go and enter data.
editor@independent.co.ug
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