State House Anti-Corruption Unit working with CID and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on Friday arraigned the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Geraldine Ssali Busuulwa, before the Anti-Corruption Court in Kololo.
She was charged with abuse of office, causing financial loss and conspiracy to defraud.
The PS in abuse of her office irregulary added Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society among those to be paid war loss compensation in the FY 2021/22, yet it was not initially listed.
She subsquently conspired with others and irregularly made payments of Shs3.4bn meant for the Cooperative to Kirya & Co. Advocates, causing financial loss to government.
Anti-Corruption Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro remanded Ssali to prison and further committed her to the High Court for trial.
She is charged alongside MPs Michael Mawanda (Igara East), Ignatius Mudimi Wamakuyu (Elgon County) and Paul Akamba (Busiki County), lawyer Julius Kirya Taitankonko and Leonard Kavundira, a Ministry of Trade official, for the diversion of over Shs3.4bn meant for war loss compensation.
Ssali was arrested on Thursday and detained at Kira Police Division in Wakiso.
Prosecution states that Ssali, during the financial years 2021/22 while employed as the Permanent Secretary and assigned the role of accounting officer, irregularly introduced Buyaka Growers Cooperatives Society Ltd among the cooperatives to be compensated for the war loss by the government.
According to prosecution, she did this while knowing that Buyaka Growers Cooperatives was not on the list on the request for the supplementary budget.
During the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23, Ssali irregularly made payments to Kirya & Co. Advocates of over Shs3.8bn meant for Buyaka Growers Cooperatives Society Ltd in contravention of the Treasury instructions of 2017 hence causing the government financial loss.
She further conspired with MPs Mawanda, Wamakuyu and Akamba, lawyer Kirya and Kavundira, the Principal Cooperative Officer at the Trade Ministry, between 2019 and 2023 to defraud the government of more than Shs3.4bn meant for war loss compensation to Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society Ltd.
MPs Mawanda and Wamakuyu are further charged with receiving stolen property.
Mawanda allegedly converted public funds amounting to over Shs1bn while his colleagues Wamakuyu and Akamba converted over Shs2.3bn and Shs200m, respectively for other purposes.
Lawyer Kirya is further charged with stealing by an agent and money laundering while Kavundira faces a new charge of abuse of office.
The group is expected to apply for bail before the High Court’s Anti-Corruption Division.