Former Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives (MTIC), Geraldine Ssali Busulwa, alongside five co-accused persons, is set to return to the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court on Wednesday, 17, as proceedings in a high-profile corruption case resume.
According to a hearing notice issued by the High Court’s Anti-Corruption Division in Kampala, the matter has been fixed for mention before Lady Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga on June 17, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. at the court’s premises in Nakasero.
The case, brought by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), pits the State against Michael Mawanda Maranga, Ignatius Mudimi Wamakuyu, Paul Akamba, Julius Taitankoko Kirya, Leonard Kavundira, and Geraldine Ssali Busulwa.
The hearing notice indicates that the court will review the status of the matter and determine the next course of action before substantive proceedings continue.
“Take notice that the above matter before Hon. Lady Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga has been fixed for mention on the 17th day of June 2026 at 9:00am or soon thereafter as the case can be heard,” the court notice states.
The notice further warns all parties that failure to appear could result in the matter proceeding in their absence.
“If no appearance is made on your behalf, by yourself, your pleader or by someone authorized by law to act for you, the matter shall be heard and decided in your absence,” the notice adds.
The case stems from investigations into the alleged mismanagement and irregular disbursement of public funds under government programmes administered through the Office of the Prime Minister. Prosecutors have maintained that the accused persons played different roles in transactions that allegedly caused financial loss to the government.
Ssali, who served as Principal Secretary and Accounting Officer in the OPM, has remained one of the central figures in the case due to her former position as the chief administrator responsible for overseeing government expenditure within the ministry. Her prosecution attracted significant public interest, given the sensitive nature of the allegations and the scrutiny surrounding accountability in the management of public resources.
The former senior government official was charged alongside several other individuals following investigations by anti-corruption agencies. Prosecutors allege that irregularities occurred in the processing and payment of funds, allegations that the accused have consistently denied.
The upcoming court appearance is will provide an update on the readiness of both the prosecution and defence teams, as well as timelines for the continuation of the trial. Legal observers say the mention could also address pending procedural matters before the court proceeds with hearing witnesses and examining evidence.
For Ssali, the proceedings will be closely watched as they will focus on her legal and professional future. Once a senior technocrat in government, her fate now rests on the outcome of a case that has become one of the notable anti-corruption prosecutions involving former high-ranking public officials.
Ssali and Edgar Kavundira, the Principal Cooperative Officer in MTIC, are among several individuals facing corruption-related charges arising from the alleged mismanagement of Shs 3.8 billion earmarked for compensation to Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society Ltd in Bulambuli District.
The two appeared before Justice Jane Akuo Kajuga on earlier this month for the mention of their case. However, the judge halted further proceedings pending the Constitutional Court’s determination of a petition filed by Busiki County Member of Parliament (MP) Paul Akamba, one of the accused persons in the case.
Akamba was challenging the legality of his trial, arguing that he was subjected to torture by security operatives during his arrest. He is seeking to have the charges against him dismissed on those grounds.
Other accused persons in the case include lawyer Julius Kirya of Kirya & Co Advocates, Igara East MP Michael Mawanda, and Elgon County MP Ignatius Wamakuyu Mudimi.
Ssali and Kavundira are additionally charged with abuse of office and causing financial loss to the government. The legislators face charges related to receiving stolen property and the diversion of public resources, while Kirya is accused of stealing by agent and money laundering.
According to court records, Mawanda allegedly received Shs 1 billion in 2021, which prosecutors claim he used to pay creditors of Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society. He is further accused of receiving an additional Shs 200 million to settle a debt arising from Commercial Division High Court Civil Case No. 28 of 2020.
The prosecution alleges that during the 2021/22 financial year, Ssali abused her authority by irregularly including Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society among cooperatives earmarked for government war-loss compensation despite the cooperative not appearing on the supplementary budget request dated August 4, 2021.
Prosecutors contend that the decision was arbitrary and prejudicial to the interests of her employer, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives.
The State further alleges that during the 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years, Ssali authorised payments totalling Shs 3.8 billion to Kirya & Co Advocates on behalf of Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society in contravention of the Treasury Instructions, 2017.
According to the prosecution, Ssali knew, or had reason to believe, that her actions would result in financial loss to the government.
The prosecution also alleges that between 2019 and 2023, Ssali, together with the other accused persons and others still at large, conspired to defraud the Government of Uganda of Shs 3.4 billion intended as war-loss compensation for Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society.
Kavundira, meanwhile, is accused of influencing and coercing the chairperson of Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society to terminate its working relationship with its duly appointed legal representatives, Anguria & Co Advocates, in favour of Kirya & Co Advocates for purposes of pursuing the compensation claim before the ministry.
Prosecutors further contend that Kavundira, who served on the ministry’s verification committee, had prior knowledge of the compensation claim and the amounts due to Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society. The prosecution also alleges that the verification committee was a separate body irregularly established by Ssali.
In the 2016/17 financial year, the government established an inter-ministerial committee led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives to verify compensation claims by cooperative societies for assets and property destroyed during past wars and political insurgencies.
Before the committee’s establishment, such claims were handled by the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, which paid a total of Shs 6.97 billion to various cooperative societies and unions.
Between the 2016/17 and 2022/23 financial years, compensation payments amounting to Shs 137.86 billion were processed through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives.
