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KAMPALA - The case in which former National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC&DB) bosses including Dr Charles Lagu are accused of fraudulently procuring animal semen worth sh1.3b, has been re-allocated to Justice Lawrence Gidudu.

This follows the elevation of the trial judge, Justice Margaret Tibulya to the Court of Appeal. She was among three people vetted by the Parliament Appointments Committee to the Court of Appeal on January 30, 2024.

Others were High Court Judge Moses Kazibwe Kawumi and Dr Asa Mugyenyi, the chairperson of the Tax Appeals Tribunal.

The case was allocated by the Anti-Corruption Court acting registrar Beatrice Atingu yesterday, April 22, 2023.

The case had stalled for over eight months following the transfer of the state prosecutors handling the matter by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

A source that preferred anonymity disclosed that state attorneys Steven Ariong and David Mugamba were transferred to Kabale and Jinja districts, respectively.

Lagu is battling charges of abuse of office, corruption, fraudulent false accounting, and forgery, together with nine others.

They include procurement officer Eziekel Mukani, farm manager Clement Nuwamanya, veterinary officer Patrick Mawadri, deputy technical manager production Wilfred Anthony Ntaate, Tadeo Mbazira, Charles Ezati, Benda Katali, Mathias Wakulira and Yasinta Nabukenya.

In the last court session, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) senior officer Andrew Emejeit testified that the Solicitor General did not clear the sh1.3b contract between the Government and Kibbubu Agro Suppliers Limited for the supply and delivery of animal semen, as required by the law.

“The entity based on a contract that was not cleared by the Solicitor General,” he earlier testified.

The witness told the court that they were unable to establish whether the entity actually made an advance payment in respect to the contract because procurement was generically provided as supply for semen without providing any reference on the request for the release of funds approved by the accounting officer.

Emejeit said he investigated the matter following a request from the Criminal Investigations Directorate, to review the procurement for supply and delivery of semen to the NAGRC&DB by Kibbubu in a letter dated May 6, 2020.

He told the court that some of the documents he based on to investigate the matter include a form file initiating the procurement, a memo requesting approval of the procurement, an evaluation report, and evidence of advance payment, among others.

In his finding, the witness noted that the NAGRC&DB user department did not attach specifics for the delivery of semen, contrary to regulation 3 (1) of the PPDA Rules.

The section provides that initiation of a procurement requirement shall include clearly defined terms of reference, the estimated value of the consultancy services, and confirmation of availability of funding.

According to the witness, the entity was placed at a risk of commitment without understanding what was being procured which can result in purchasing supplies that may not meet the requirement.

Although the sh1.3b contract was signed by Lagu, Emejeit stated that there was no evidence to indicate that price assessment in the market was done, which placed the entity at risk of procuring supplies at high cost.

The witness told the court that procurement of animal semen from Kibbubu did not meet the threshold for the use of the direct procurement method because other suppliers were in the market.

“Kibbubu was not the manufacturer of the supplies,” Emejeit said.