Kampala, Uganda: The Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala has remanded Dr. Byarugaba Baterana Bonaventura, the former Executive Director of Mulago National Referral Hospital, to Luzira Prison on charges of abuse of office.

Dr. Baterana, along with nine others, is accused of causing a loss of 6.3 billion Ugandan Shillings to the government through irregular and double payments.

The court session presided over by Acting Senior Principal Grade One Magistrate Abert Asiimwe on Wednesday, saw the accused face 19 charges. Initially, 10 individuals were expected in court, but only seven appeared.

Those remanded alongside Dr. Baterana include Edward Kataha, former Head of the Engineering Department; Kenneth Wafula, former Senior Hospital Administrator; Senior Procurement officers Christopher Okware and Adah Kamucunguzi; and Robert Wasike and Catherine Winfred Nabwire, Directors and shareholders of Setramaco International Limited. The remaining three accused, Assistant Engineer Perezi Baganda, former Assistant Commissioner Accounts Ponziano Nyeko, and former Senior Accountant Charles Mwasa, did not appear in court.

The charges stem from allegations that between 2019 and 2020, Dr Baterana, Nyeko, and Mwasa, in their capacities as authorized users of the Integrated Financial Management System, flouted payment procedures to process a payment of 3.6 billion Shillings to Setramaco International Limited.

The payment was purportedly for consumables used in the repair of large sterilization equipment, which did not exist at Mulago Hospital.

Prosecutors allege that 1.5 billion Shillings was lost to Setramaco for servicing non-existent sterilization equipment. The accused are said to have processed these payments without following proper procurement protocols, resulting in financial loss to the government.

Furthermore, Edward Kataha and Kenneth Wafula allegedly certified non-executed works, and Adah Kamucunguzi is accused of flouting procurement procedures for the repair services at Mulago, Kawempe, and Kiruddu hospitals. The irregular award of a 7.5 billion Shillings contract to Setramaco was also cited as prejudicial to the interests of their employer.

Additional charges include multiple payments totalling 774 million Shillings for relocation services already paid for, and double payments of 179.5 million and 196.6 million Shillings to Setramaco and Convention World Limited, respectively, for the same services.

The seven accused, who denied all charges, were remanded until June 24, 2024. Magistrate Asiimwe declined to hear their bail applications, citing time constraints and the lengthy procedure required for bail applications.

Dr. Baterana was first indicted in September 2022 following his arrest in March of that year by the State House Monitoring Unit on allegations of abuse of office, embezzlement, causing financial loss, and fraudulent accounting of 28.8 billion Shillings.

He was subsequently interdicted by the Ministry of Health but was later reinstated in 2023 before handing over office months later.

Prosecution, led by State Attorney Raymond Mugisa, informed the court that investigations into the matter are nearing completion.