NMS Boss Charged

THE head of the procurement department at the National Medical Stores (NMS) in Entebbe has been charged with causing financial loss of sh277m and abuse of office, reports Solomon Muyita. Patrick Olupot Ijala, 53, appeared yesterday before the Buganda Road Court Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Catherine Bamugemereire, and denied the charges. The prosecutor, Jackie Kyosimire, told the court that inquiries in the matter were still going on. Ijala allegedly inflated costs of drugs bought from USA in 1998, from $84 per unit to $348. He is said to have placed an offer of drugs to be supplied to NMS in 1998 by Karnag International, knowing that this would cause financial loss. Ijala was remanded in Luzira Prison. Ends