Defence lawyers representing the interdicted Accountant General, Mr. Lawrence Ssemakula, have protested his continued interdiction beyond the legal six-month limit and asked the Anti-Corruption Court to dismiss the charges against him due to delays in prosecution.
Mr. Ssemakula, together with seven other Ministry of Finance officials, was charged in February this year over a Shs60 billion scandal in which money was allegedly transferred to fraudulent company accounts in the United Kingdom and Japan.
When the case came up on Monday, September 23, before Chief Magistrate Rachael Nakyazze, defence lawyer Mwesigwa Rukutana told the court that the prolonged investigations and failure by the prosecution to proceed with the trial were unjustified.
“If they (prosecution) are not ready with the evidence, they did not need to arrest him since seven months down the road, they are not done with the investigations,” Mr. Rukutana said.
“Today, everything in the world is in the cloud. I urged the court to dismiss the charges or proceed with the hearing. The magistrate agreed with me and gave them the last adjournment,” he added.
Mr. Ssemakula is facing charges of corruption, abuse of office, money laundering, and causing financial loss.
Mr. Rukutana also asked court to lift his client’s interdiction, arguing that the continued suspension contravenes the Public Service Commission Regulations.
“His interdiction is severe since it’s now seven months since he was interdicted, and yet the law talks of six months,” Mr. Rukutana said.
According to Regulation 38(5) of the Public Service Commission Regulations, interdiction should not exceed six months when a case involves the police or courts, and three months for internal investigations within a ministry or department.
The interdicted officials include Ms. Jennifer Mubarura, acting director of Treasury Services and Asset Management; Mr. Nuwagaba, senior IT officer; Mr. Paul Nsubuga Lumuya, systems IT officer; Ms. Deborah Dorothy Kusasira, senior accountant; Ms. Judith Asiaba, accountant; Ms. Betty Nanyonga, records assistant; and Mr. Mark Kasulu, IT systems officer.
According to the prosecution, between September and October 2021, Mr. Ssemakula and Ms. Mubarura, while serving as public officers, neglected their duties, causing financial loss of Shs528,858,832 to the government. The accused officials have since denied all the charges.
