The powerful permanent secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, Geraldine Ssali Busuulwa has been remanded to Luzira prison on charges of conspiring with five others to defraud the government of billions of shillings.

Ssali is charged alongside Igara East MP, Michael Mawanda, Elgon County MP, Mudimi Wamakuyu, and their Busiki County counterpart, Paul Akamba. The quartet is jointly charged with Leonard Kavundira, principal cooperative officer in the Ministry of Trade, and city lawyer, Julius Kirya Taitankoko.     

On Friday, they appeared before Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro where they were charged afresh on an amended charge sheet. Ssali appeared before the same court where the charges were read to her. She was arrested on Friday and presented to the court but the charges were not read to her pending the amendment of the charge sheet.

When the court resumed, it allowed the prosecution to tender in an amended charge sheet. The accused persons were then asked to face trial in the High Court because the magistrate said her court had no jurisdiction to try them. Court heard that Mawanda, Wamakuyu, Akamba, Kirya, Kavundira, and Ssali conspired to defraud Shs 3.4 billion that was meant for compensation of Buyaka Growers Cooperatives Society Limited based in Bulambuli district. 

The crimes were allegedly committed between 2019 and 2023. The prosecution alleges that Mawanda in October 2021, in Kampala diverted public funds amounting to Shs 1.5 billion for purposes unrelated to the intended resources. Wamakuyu and Akamba allegedly diverted Shs 2.3 billion and Shs 200 million respectively for their benefit. Taitankoko allegedly diverted Shs 3.5 billion.    

The prosecution further alleges that Taitankoko received the money from a DFCU bank account of Kirya and Company Advocates from the Ministry of Trade. He then transferred the money amounting to Shs 911 million to Rajnish Jain on account number 3200370870 held at Centenary Bank knowing such money to be proceeds of crime.  

He reportedly transferred the money to assist Wamakuyu who was involved in the conspiracy to defraud Shs 3.4 billion, which generated the proceeds to evade legal consequences of his action. The prosecution states that Kavundira during the financial year 2021/2022 and 2022/2023, abused the authority of his office when he influenced and coerced the chairperson of Buyaka to abandon their duly appointed lawyers from Angura and Company Advocates and Mungoma and Wakhakha and Company Advocates in favour of Kirya and Co Advocates.   

The prosecution further alleges that during the financial year 2021/2022 while employed as the permanent secretary and assigned the role of accounting officer of the Ministry of Trade, Ssali abused her authority by doing an arbitrary act prejudicial to her employer. According to the state, that was done when she irregularly introduced Buyaka among the cooperatives to be compensated for the war loss by the government of Uganda. It is alleged that Buyaka was not listed on the request for the supplementary budget dated August 2021.   

Ssali is also accused of causing the financial loss of Shs 3.8 billion by making irregular payments to Kirya and Company Advocates meant for Buyaka. The DPP states that Ssali wrote to the secretary of the Treasury Ministry of Finance requesting a supplementary budget of Shs 54 billion that included Shs 10 billion for cooperatives.

Evidence shows that Shs 2.3 billion was for Masaka, Teso Shs 1 billion, Nyakatonzi Shs 1.06 billion, North Bukedi Shs 1.2 billion, Bunyoro Shs 1.5 billion, Lango Shs 723 million, Kigezi Shs 1 billion and Central West Nile Shs 1.16 billion. The evidence shows that Ssali wrote a follow-up letter and submitted a list of the cooperatives to benefit. Among those listed were the Masaka Cooperative Union, Jinja Multipurpose Cooperatives Society, Lango Cooperative Union, North Cooperative Union, Buyaka Growers Cooperatives Society Limited and Bumwambu Cooperative Society.

Buyaka was not part of the list initially listed for payment. The records show that Buyaka was then listed to get Shs 1.5 billion. Consequently, on October 21, 2021, the minister for Finance wrote to the speaker submitting expenditure schedules for the financial year 2021 /2022 which included Shs 8 billion to the Trade ministry for war loss compensation. 

The evidence further indicates that parliament approved the said supplementary expenditure of Shs 8 billion and recommended an appropriation of Shs 17.5 billion to the Trade Ministry for compensation of various cooperatives without any basis or justification.

The cooperatives intended to benefit from the approved Shs 17.5 billion did not include Buyaka and as a result, various payments belonging to Buyaka were paid to Kirya and Company Advocates who later made irregular payments to Akamba, Wamakuyu and Mawanda. Further evidence shows that investigations later commenced as ordered by parliament and it was established that Shs 3.8 billion was paid to an account held in dfcu in the name of Kirya and Company Advocates by the Trade Ministry between October 4th 2021 and June 2023. 

The records show that of the total monies approved, Buyaka got only Shs 290 million. The summary of evidence by the DPP further shows that money was later diverted to different individuals and for different purposes majority of which was paying money lenders.

Mawanda allegedly received money worth Shs 1.05 billion and in October and November 2021, Shs 200 million was again transferred to the bank account of Owoyesigyire, Muhereza and Company Advocates held in Bank of Africa for settlement of civil suit number 28 of 2020 between Beginner George Turyakira and Michael Mawanda in the Commercial Division of the High court.

Evidence submitted before the court further indicates that Shs 33 million was paid to Centenary Bank for Mawanda to pay loan obligations to satisfy Akamba and Wamakuyu among other money lenders. The prosecution concludes that during the trial, they will adduce overwhelming evidence both physical and non-physical to show that all the accused persons have no defence whatsoever and they should be convicted as charged.

The accused persons were not allowed to say anything about the charges against them are capital in nature and the magistrates court has no jurisdiction to entertain their plea as well as to try them. They have been advised to seek bail in the High Court if they so wish.