KAMPALA- The Anti- Corruption Court in Kololo has sentenced city lawyer Bob Kasango to 16 years, imprisonment term at Luzira prison for forgery, conspiring and stealing Shs15.4 billion which was meant for pensioners.
Others sentenced are; former top ministry of public service officials including; former permanent secretary of Ministry of Public Service Jimmy Lwamafa , former principal accountant in the Pension department Christopher Obeyand Stephen Kiwanuka Kunsa , former commissioner for Compensation Department in the same ministry.
Delivering her sentence, Justice Margaret Tibulya jailed Obey to serve 14 years for being the technocrat who drew schedules of this fraud, Lwamafa to serve 9 years and Kunsa also 9 for neglecting their roles.
The judge also ruled that the convicts must also make good of the loss they caused to government by the 3 officials compensating Shs3.4 billion each while Kasango is to refund Shs 5 billion
The three officials have also been banned from holding any public office for a period of the years.
According to justice Tibulya , evidence brought to court has proved that the 3 officials in their respective capacities unlawfully paid the Shs15.4 billion to Kasango’s defunct Law firm of Hall and partners as legal fees claiming it had successfully handled the worker’s case against Government in 1998 whereas not.
However, the judge noted that to date no court order awarding costs to any Law firm that claims to have handled the case has ever been made.
Justice Tibulya also noted that Kasango was aware that the documents he submitted to collect the money were forged, and that the Public Service officials were aware that they were not supposed to pay the money to Kasango since there had not been any money budgeted for settling court costs and damages.
The charges ranged from conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to commit a felony, forgery, to theft and diversion of public funds.
The jailed convicts have however announced that they would appeal against both the court’s judgment and sentences before the court of appeal within 14 days.
