Ex-OPM principal accountant Kazinda to know fate in corruption-related case

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The Supreme Court is Thursday, February 12, 2026, set to deliver a ruling on the validity of a judgment that halted the continued prosecution of former Office of the Prime Minister principal accountant Geoffrey Kazinda, after it emerged that one of the judges who heard the case did not sign the decision.

The court will also determine whether an appeal by the Attorney General challenging release orders granted to Kazinda was filed out of time. Kazinda contends that the appeal was lodged outside the constitutionally prescribed 60-day period, rendering it illegal and his continued detention unlawful.

A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, on February 11, 2026, said the anomaly involved Justice Ezekiel Muhanguzi, who had been elevated to the Supreme Court by the time the judgment was delivered.

Others on the panel are retired Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, Percy Night Tuhaise, Elizabeth Musoke, Catherine Bamugemereire, Christopher Madrama and Anna Mugenyi.

Kazinda is being represented by lawyer Richard Omongole, while the Attorney General is represented by the Assistant Commissioner for Civil Litigation Richard Adrole, senior state attorney Geoffrey Madete and state attorney Brian Musota.

Background

In 2020, the Constitutional Court ruled that Kazinda’s continued prosecution on similar corruption charges amounted to double jeopardy and ordered his immediate release.

However, the Attorney General appealed against the decision, prompting the Supreme Court to issue a stay of execution of the Constitutional Court orders, pending the outcome of the appeal.

As a result of the order for stay, Kazinda has spent five years in prison awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision.

Petition

In a petition dated December 17, 2025, addressed to Supreme Court Administrator Justice Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, Uganda Law Society (ULS) asked the court to urgently conclude Kazinda’s case, saying justice delayed risks eroding public confidence in the Judiciary.

The ULS petition followed appeals from Kazinda’s family, who reportedly felt frustrated by the prolonged court process.

Kazinda is currently serving a seven-year sentence for illicit enrichment, a conviction he believes could be invalidated should the Supreme Court uphold the Constitutional Court ruling.

ULS also noted that by the time the Constitutional Court delivered its decision, the Court of Appeal had already quashed two of Kazinda’s convictions, for which he had served eight years in prison.

According to the petition, after being convicted on June 19, 2013, of embezzlement, conspiracy to defraud, fraudulent false accounting, forgery and uttering false documents, Kazinda was sentenced to five years in prison.

However, Kazinda appealed against the Anti-Corruption Court’s decision, and the Court of Appeal set aside both his conviction and sentence, while he was still facing trial on other corruption-related charges.

In November 2025, Kazinda also petitioned Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo seeking leniency, arguing that after more than a decade in prison, “there is nothing left to reform or forgive.”

In a separate suit, Kazinda petitioned the East African Court of Justice to challenge the confiscation of his assets by the Inspector General of Government (IGG).

Although the IGG initially sought to participate in the proceedings three months ago, it later withdrew and was ordered to pay costs to Kazinda.