The Inspectorate of Government (IGG) has committed seven senior Parliament officials, including Director of Communications and Public Affairs Chris Obore, to the High Court to face trial over corruption-related charges.
The officials were committed on Monday by Grade One Magistrate Esther Asiimwe after IGG prosecutors presented an indictment containing additional charges arising from new evidence.
The seven officials are currently on remand at Luzira Prison.
Those committed to the High Court are Obore; Adilo Daniel, Director of Human Resource; Rajab Kaaya Ssemalulu, Principal Research Officer; Emmanuel Emuron Okwi, Principal Protocol Officer; Vincent Otebata, Capacity Development Officer; and Leonard Okema, Executive Secretary in the Office of the Speaker.
Also committed is Murebe Methods, Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Parliamentary Cooperative Savings and Credit Society (Parliament SACCO).
An eighth suspect, Stella Itute, an Office Supervisor in the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, was not included in the indictment because she remains at large, according to the IGG.
Money laundering charge added
The latest indictment includes an additional money laundering charge against Okwi, alongside the previously preferred charges of embezzlement and causing financial loss.
The prosecution has also preferred the same principal charges against his co-accused.
The addition of money laundering charges has affected the handling of the suspects’ bail applications because such charges fall within the jurisdiction of the High Court.
Magistrate Asiimwe had earlier declined to entertain the officials’ bail applications on account of the money laundering charges, paving the way for the High Court to handle the matter.
The Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court last week scheduled September 9, 2026, to deliver a consolidated ruling on the bail applications filed by the seven officials.
Following Monday’s committal, the court directed the prosecution and defence teams to appear before the Registrar of the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court on August 18, 2026, for mention of the case.
The committal means the magistrate’s court has completed the stage of determining whether the accused should be tried by the High Court, where the substantive trial will now be handled.
The accused remain presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty by a competent court.
The IGG is mandated under Uganda’s Constitution and anti-corruption laws to investigate and prosecute corruption and abuse of office involving public officials. Its recent performance reports show that the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court handles a significant number of corruption prosecutions brought by the Inspectorate.
The case involving the Parliament officials comes amid increased scrutiny of financial management and accountability within public institutions, including Parliament.