By Ibrahim kasita

A UGANDAN national, John Musisi Kaduwanema, charged with stealing over £1m from the Birmingham City Council, was staying in Britain illegally, the Birmingham Post said yesterday.

Kaduwanema, the Birmingham City Council finance manager, should have left Britain four years ago but when his visa expired, he landed a job with the city council, where he has been charged with redirecting £1,033,595 (about sh3.3b) public funds.

The money went missing from the city’s social care and health finance unit, a social services department previously judged as failing by inspectors.

The paper said embarrassed council chiefs are investigating how the Ugandan obtained his post as a payments manager with access to millions of pounds of public cash.

The paper quoted a council source: “It’s unbelievable that an illegal immigrant could have got such a post with the council. How he slipped through the net, we just don’t know.”

Kaduwanema drove a Jaguar and owned three properties - an apartment on Liverpool’s prestigious Waterfront, a house at Ravensitch Walk, Brierley Hill, and a house in Stag Drive, Huntingdon, Cannock.

Council bosses are investigating how Kaduwanema was able to obtain a managerial job with Britain’s second-largest council.

The £25,000 per year post gave him direct access to millions of pounds of public money.

Kaduwanema, a finance manager, is accused of making 19 illegal transfers to his own accounts using council cash set aside for VAT payments.

The paper said immigration officials investigating his status say Kaduwanema came to Britain on a student visa several years ago.
He failed to complete his studies at Birmingham University and, when his visa ran out, he never applied for citizenship.

Kaduwanema began temporary work within the council’s social care department while on the books of a national recruitment agency in early 2002.

He successfully applied for a team leader’s post within the same department in July of that year.

Two years later, he was promoted to payments manager.

Kaduwanema may be served with deportation papers this week, but he will not be deported until his case has been dealt with by the courts.

Crown Prosecution lawyers are looking at the possibility that he may be charged with further offences relating to his immigration and employment status.

The case came to light when Barclays Bank contacted the city council and raised questions about certain transactions.

The local authority ordered an investigation which found out that money was missing.

The officers contacted West Midlands Police’s Economic Crime Unit.

Kaduwanema was arrested at his home earlier this month and appeared before a Birmingham magistrate on March 10 on 10 charges relating to the funds.
He is on remand at Winson Green Prison and is due to be committed to the crown court for trial.

A council spokeswoman said last night, “As soon as the irregularities with the council’s VAT accounts were brought to our attention, we launched an immediate investigation and informed the police.

“We also took immediate disciplinary action against a member of staff. We can recover any monies to reimburse Customs and Excise.”

She said Kaduwanema was not asked to submit references before his recruitment in 2002 but the law now requires so.


- Ugandan now on remand
- Failed to complete varsity
- Drove a Jaguar
- Has houses in prime areas
- Faces 10 counts of fraud
- Council investigates how he obtained the position
- Transferred VAT payments