Pension Scam Convicts Jailed, to Refund 50bn
Pension Scam Convicts jailed, to Refund 50bn
By Serestino Tusingwire
The Anti Corruption Court in Kampala presided over by Justice Lawrence Gidudu has this afternoon sentenced all three of convicted former officials of the Ministry of Public Service to different jail terms, after they were found guilty of causing financial loss of over Shs88.2b and abuse of office.
The three are Jimmy Lwamafa, Chris Obey and Stephen Kiwanuka, who have been at the center of the scandal in which ghost pensioners were created and billions of shillings deposited on their accounts before being withdrawn by fraudsters.
Justice Gidudu sentenced Mr Lwamafa to 7 years in jail; Kiwanuka Kunsa got 5 years while Christopher Obey was handed 10 years in jail.
The trio on top of the sentences was also ordered to jointly refund Shs50bn by the court.
The Judge in his ruling said this serves as an example to all corrupt officers and those intending to play with tax payers’ money.
Earlier in the day, the trio was convicted on ten counts that include causing financial loss and diversion of public funds.
Gidudu ruled that the evidence which was brought in court clearly proved that these three made budgetary provisions for Shs88.4 billion in the two financial years of 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 as NSSF contributions, while knowing that government workers are exempted from contributing to NSSF.
Justice Gidudu said while passing the judgment, that he considered a number of factors including their family responsibilities, their age as well as the roles they played in this syndicate of crime.
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