NEWS– There has been chaos at the Kampala’s Anti-Corruption Court this evening, as plain clothed security personnel re-arrested the Busiki County MP, Paul Akamba, moment after being granted the court bail.
Akamba, has been arrested after stepping outside the court while greeting a group of his family and constituents who had converged at the court. A group of about 10 in a minibus commonly known as drone arrested and whisked him to unknown destination at around 5:40pm this evening.
He is the third person among the group of 3 MPs who were arrested on charges related to corruption scandals. His counterparts, Lwengo District Woman MP of Parliament Cissy Namujju Dionizia and Yusuf Mutembuli, the Bunyole East Member of Parliament, have been denied bail and further remanded to Luzira prison.
The court presided over by Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro today rejected their bail application on grounds that their sureties were not substantial. They were remanded further until June 17th.
Namujju failed to produce an introduction letter from her village Chairperson while Bunyole East MP Yusuf Mutembuli was denied because his second surety Minsa Namukose, a community development officer in Mukono Municipality failed to produce a certified letter of employment before court.
Akamba was released after finding that his sureties were substantial and had presented all the necessary documents to be granted bail. He was ordered to pay 13 million shillings cash and each of his sureties a non-cash bond of 100 million shillings. Akamba was also ordered to deposit his passport with the Court.
The prosecution alleges that Mutembule, Akamba, and Namujju on May 13th, 2024 at Hotel Africana in Kampala solicited from Mariam Wangadya the Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission an undue advantage of 20 percent of the anticipated Budget of the UHRC for the Financial Year 2024/2025.
This was reportedly done by asserting that the MPs were able to exert improper influence over the decision-making of the Budget Committee of the Parliament of Uganda to increase the UHRC budget, in consideration of the said undue advantage.
Trouble for the accused persons started last week after President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni during the State of the Nation Address, revealed that he has overwhelming evidence of corruption among public officials.
Museveni said the MPs allegedly colluded with accounting officers, the Ministry of Finance, and the Bank of Uganda to make allocations of public resources in exchange for kickbacks (bribes) and promised to crush them.
