Assessors to deliver opinion in Threeways Shipping sh9.5b case

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Assessors are scheduled to deliver their opinion in a case involving two directors of Threeways Shipping Limited, who are accused of stealing sh9.5b from MTN Uganda.

Gabriel Obonyo and Clementia Nabudde are today (Monday, April 7, 2025) expected to advise the Nakasero-based Anti-Corruption Court, presided over by Justice Lawrence Gidudu, on whether to convict Oscar Baitwa and Geoffrey Bihamaiso or acquit them.

Baitwa and Bihamaiso are on trial for charges of theft and conspiracy to defraud MTN Uganda Limited of sh9.5b. They have denied the charges.

Court assessors are non-lawyers who sit alongside a judge to provide their opinions based on their understanding of the case. While their input is considered, the judge may choose to agree or disagree with their opinions.

The assessors’ opinion had been scheduled for April 2, 2025, but was postponed because it was not ready.

Defence lawyers ask court to acquit

On their part, lawyers Henry Kunya, Henry Kyalimpa, and John Mary Muwaya, during final submissions on November 20, 2024, argued that the prosecution had failed to prove that Baitwa and Bihamaiso conspired to defraud MTN using fictitious invoices. They asked the court to acquit them.

Baitwa and Bihamaiso were charged with theft and conspiracy to defraud MTN of Sh9.5b. However, upon examining the evidence, the court found that the accused had a case to answer only concerning $1,854,777 (about sh7b).

The State asked the court to convict Baitwa and Bihamaiso on the grounds that they facilitated the siphoning of money from MTN through their company accounts.

Chief state attorneys; Abigail Agaba and Gloria Inzikuru, from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) argued that the duo, being the sole directors and shareholders of the company, directly benefited from the proceeds of the alleged crimes.

Prosecution’s case

The prosecution said the accused, with intent to defraud, stole sh9.5b from the telecommunications company MTN.

In another count, the prosecution alleges that the accused conspired to steal sh9.5b from MTN Uganda. They denied the charges.

Initially, former MTN employees — accountants John Paul Basebose and Naphtali Were — were charged alongside Baitwa and Bihamaiso before the same court, but Basebose pleaded guilty through a plea bargain. He agreed with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and refunded some money to MTN, and charges against him were subsequently dropped. Were has since passed on.

The DPP also discontinued proceedings against two other employees of Threeways Shipping Services: chief finance officer Waiswa Kafuuko and logistics officer Faridah Senkumba.

After delivering their opinion, the court is expected to fix a date for judgment.