COURT HAMMER! Supreme Court Seals Fate of Ex-Equity Bank Official in Massive Sh5Bn Fraud Scandal

The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of former bank employee David Sserwamba Musoke for embezzlement and money laundering arising from the fraudulent withdrawal of USD 1.45 million (about Shs5.4 billion) from customer accounts at Equity Bank Uganda.

Musoke was in 2017 convicted by the High Court Anti-Corruption Division on multiple counts of embezzlement and money laundering and sentenced to several terms of 10 years’ imprisonment, alongside a compensation order of USD 500,000 in favour of his employer, Equity Bank Uganda.

The Court of Appeal in 2022 upheld his conviction for embezzlement and money laundering but quashed a count of conspiracy to commit a felony and confirmed the sentences on the remaining counts. Dissatisfied with the decision, Musoke appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Court of Appeal erred in law by upholding convictions based on hearsay evidence, improperly admitting electronic evidence, and failing to consider alleged violations of his rights during investigations.

He also challenged the authenticity and chain of custody of CCTV footage and electronic transaction records, and alleged that the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence. However, in its ruling delivered on Tuesday, the Supreme Court dismissed the majority of the appeal, holding that it lacked merit because it largely raised issues of fact rather than pure points of law, which are the only basis for a second appeal under Section 5(2) of the Judicature Act.

The justices emphasized that the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction is limited to determining whether the Court of Appeal made an error of law or reached a decision that could not reasonably be supported by the evidence, and that it cannot re-evaluate factual findings already settled by the lower courts. The panel of justices comprised Lady Justice Percy Night Tuhaise, Lady Justice Elizabeth Musoke, Justice Stephen Musota, and Justice Monica Mugenyi.

The court further held that challenges to CCTV footage, electronic transaction records, and bank system printouts involved questions of evidential weight and authentication that had already been determined by the trial court and were not properly appealed at the Court of Appeal level. It also noted that issues relating to the alleged torture of the appellant and claims of suppression of evidence were not properly raised or substantiated in the lower courts and could not be introduced at the Supreme Court stage.

On the merits of the case, the justices upheld findings that Musoke participated in fraudulent withdrawals from bank accounts belonging to foreign clients, including transactions of USD 700,000, USD 500,000, and USD 250,000. The court relied on earlier findings that CCTV footage, banking records, and recovered funds from associates linked to the appellant supported the prosecution’s case, and that bank security systems, including biometric verification, were deliberately bypassed.

However, the Supreme Court found that the lower courts had failed to correctly account for the period Musoke spent on remand before conviction, as required under Article 23(8) of the Constitution. The court therefore deducted two years, one month, and seven days from each sentence, resulting in revised terms of 9 years, 10 months, and 23 days for the embezzlement and money laundering counts, and 4 years, 10 months, and 23 days on the remaining count.

The sentences will run from June 1, 2017, the date he was sentenced by the High Court. The court also upheld the compensation order requiring Musoke to pay USD 500,000 to Equity Bank Uganda, holding that the bank had suffered financial loss after compensating affected customers. The appeal was accordingly dismissed, with the Supreme Court holding that no substantial miscarriage of justice had been demonstrated.

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