‘A friend in need is a friend indeed’ or so the old adage goes. But this seems not the case for the former Principal Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Geoffrey Kazinda, who has written to his friends, accusing them of abandoning him in his hour of need.
Kazinda, who was sentenced to 5 years in Luzira Maximum Prison by the Anti-Corruption Court in 2013, was found guilty of abuse of office, forgery and unlawful possession of government stores and subsequently diverting Shs20billion public funds to his personal gain, has penned an emotive letter to among his other friends, Standard Chartered Bank, Herman Kasekende, for ‘forgetting him’.
In Kazinda’s December 19 letter to Kasekende titled ‘Festive Season greetings’, he also ‘sends regards’ to close friends Louis Alex Mubiru, Charles Makaayi, Anthony Masozera, High Court Judge Michael Elubu and Benjamin Bwanika.
“Kindly permit me to congratulate you upon the great work you are doing, which has come to my attention through the media and several friends of ours. After realizing that for the past four years I have spent in prison, you have not visited me or sent me someone on your behalf, which are the only ways I could speak or hear from you. I zeroed the cause to be either that you may not know how to find your way to prison, or you may perceive it as unlawful for you to visit someone in prison,” Kazinda writes to seasoned Economist Kasekende.
Kazinda adds: “I am writing to let you know that it is not unlawful to visit a prisoner and for that reason, there are designated official visiting days, unless a public holiday falls on such a day. The designated visiting days to prisoners incarcerated at upper prison Luzira are Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, from10:00am to 3:30pm. However, for some of your status, with clearance from Headquarters located at Parliamentary Avenue, alternative arrangement for visit may be arranged.”
Alternatively, he advises Mr. Kasekende to pay him a visit at court if he can’t make it to prison.
“A prisoner may be visited at court within the prison arrangement supervised by the prison warder designated to take the prisoner for court business on that particular day. My nephew Ivan Tusuubira always knows my court programs and you may contact him on 0753957231 for any arrangements you may have for me….otherwise I have hope to see you or hear from you, and kindly pass my regards to Louis Alex Mubiru, Charles Makaayi, Anthony Masozera, Michael Elubu and Bwanika Benjamin.”
The letter comes just two days to Christmas, a time people check on their family and loved ones.
