The Anti-Corruption Court has remanded three MPs to Luzira prison on charges of corruption after they allegedly solicited money from the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) in return for increasing its budget.

The MPs are; Yusuf Mutembuli (Bunyole East), a resident of Bweyogerere Kirinya in Kira Municipality, Wakiso district, Paul Akamba (Busiki) resident of Kyanja Balagade Rise Nakawa Division and Cissy Namujju Dionizia (Lwengo Woman) resident of Nambu village, Kigo Wakiso district.

The legislators who spent two days in police custody were arraigned in a fully-packed courtroom on Wednesday presided over by Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro and charged with one count of corruption.

The prosecution alleges that MPs; Mutembule, Akamba and Namujju on May 13, 2024, at Hotel Africana in Kampala solicited money from Mariam Wangadya the chairperson of the UHRC an undue advantage of 20 per cent 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 parliamentary budget committee to increase the UHRC budget, in consideration of the said undue advantage.

One of the detained Members of Parliament, who is involved in committee leadership in the House, was recorded in an audio negotiating for a huge sum of money from the head of an agency in the Justice sector.

This site learned that during the processing of the recent budget FY2024 /25 the legislator, whose name we have withheld, used his position in the Committee leadership to demand funds from the agency that needed a critical budget increase.

In one of the meetings with the executive head of the agency (female) within the Kampala Metropolitan region, the legislator was purposely recorded and the tape was delivered to a “very high authority”.

“He sheepishly went for a negotiation for a bribe without a second thought. Now, there’s serious incriminating audio evidence against him,” said a source.

The suspects however denied the charges levelled against them and applied for bail through their respective lawyers led by Asuman Basalirwa.

The prosecution led by state attorney Nicholas Kawooya informed the court that investigations into this case are still ongoing and prayed for an adjournment.

Namujju presented Muhammad Ssentayi, the Bukoto West MP, Hajji Hassan Bulwadda, owner of Bulwadda Clinics located at Buwada Mall Gayaza Road who is also her business partner and longtime friend and Ssemmwanga Gyavira MP for Buyamba County in Rakai as her sureties.

She also deposited her passport with the court. Akamba presented MPs Mariam Naigaga NamutumbaIki, Robert Kasolo and MP Henry Kibarya Mourice as his sureties. Mutembuli on the other hand presented Namukose Minsa Kirya, a community development officer in Mukono who is his sister as his surety.

The lawyers for the accused persons told court that the offences were not grave and that even if they were convicted, court could only jail them for just ten years or they would be ordered to refund the money.

On their part, the prosecution asked the court for more time to verify the documents presented by the sureties like identification cards and LC one letters from the chairpersons. According to prosecutor Kawoya, they also want to verify the LC 1 letters presented by all the accused persons which he said requires more time.

The accused persons will return to court on Friday for a ruling on their bail application. The magistrate said it was too late for her to write her decision. Trouble for the accused persons started last week after President Yoweri Museveni presented the State of the Nation Address where he disclosed that he has overwhelming evidence of the corrupt public officials. 

Museveni said MPs allegedly colluded with accounting officers in the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Uganda to make allocations of public resources in exchange for kickbacks (bribes) and promised to crush them. Museveni revealed that the facts before him confirmed long-standing rumours he had of corruption at the heart of government, especially during the annual appropriation of taxpayers’ money. 

He floated an idea of possible amnesty to the corrupt MPS but a majority of the legislators interrupted his speech in disagreement.