OPM official committed to High Court

By Angela Nalumansi 

BUGANDA Road Court Anti-corruption division chief Magistrate Irene Akankwasa has committed Wandira Frances senior assistant secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister to the High Court Anti-corruption division in Kololo for trial over charges of embezzlement of over 34 million shillings belonging to the government of Uganda. 

Prosecution alleges that Wandira 41, a resident of Naalya in Kampala District, embezzled the money between April and September 2011. 

Prosecution further alleges that the accused between February and September 2011, being assistant chief whip and charged with the responsibility of managing office imprest and funds for the government chief whip’s travels, knowingly furnished false receipts and accountabilities for funds received by her. 

Wandira is also charged with five counts of forgery where it is alleged that between February and September 2011, with intent to defraud, forged an accountability form, signatures of various escorts, research officers and journalists who accompanied the government chief whip to Teso and Karamoja between January and March 2011. 

She is further alleged to have forged various receipts with different serial numbers purporting them to have been issued by various fuel stations including Total Arua service station, Rock filling station in Arua and Shell Jinja Road service station. 

According to the letter presented to court from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), it is alleged that between March 2010 and January 2012, Wandira was an employee of the Office of the Prime Minister in the capacity of Assistant Secretary as well as a personal assistant to the government Chief Whip. 

It is further added that during that period while in office the accused shs567,154,343 from her employer to her personal bank account with Barclay Bank number 0285768721. 

DPP alleges that the said money was meant for various activities including office imprest and various trips of the government Chief Whip. 

It is noted that the accused submitted various accountabilities to the undersecretary finance and administration which included receipts for fuel, accommodation, signed sheets fow allowances to various officers. 

In the course of investigations the receipts were shown to the companies and institutions to which they were attributed to originate from but they were disowned. 

The total amount of money as per the disowned receipts and allowances came to 34,440,600 which amount was falsely accounted for by the accused person. 

Prosecution told court that it will adduce evidence at the hearing date of the case to prove that the accused committed the offences levelled against her. 

Magistrate Akankwasa remanded Wandira to Luzira Prison until the next convenient court session for trial.