Former Equity Bank manager loses Supreme Court appeal in sh4.6bn fraud case
A panel of justices led by Percy Tuhaise, and comprising Elizabeth Musoke, Stephen Musota and Christopher Madrama, dismissed the appeal filed by David Musoke Sserwamaba, who had challenged both his conviction and sentence.
The prosecution further told court that the money was withdrawn and disguised as having been accessed by two Sudanese businessmen, Sisco Majok and Ajang Achang, who allegedly travelled from South Sudan to Kampala and withdrew the funds from Equity Bank’s Oasis Mall branch, a claim prosecutors said was false.
KAMPALA - The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a former Equity Bank operations manager found guilty of embezzling sh4.6 billion.
A panel of justices led by Percy Tuhaise, and comprising Elizabeth Musoke, Stephen Musota and Christopher Madrama, dismissed the appeal filed by David Musoke Sserwamaba, who had challenged both his conviction and sentence.
Sserwamaba had also contested his conviction on charges of embezzlement and money laundering, arguing that the trial judge relied on hearsay evidence and improperly admitted certain evidence in reaching the guilty verdict.
In 2017, the Anti-Corruption Court, presided over by Justice Margaret Tibulya, convicted Sserwamaba alongside Isaac Ssewamba, Reagan Ojok, a lobbyist, Moses Kalungi, businessman Mubarak Shafik and Mathew Keeya.
The prosecution further told court that the money was withdrawn and disguised as having been accessed by two Sudanese businessmen, Sisco Majok and Ajang Achang, who allegedly travelled from South Sudan to Kampala and withdrew the funds from Equity Bank’s Oasis Mall branch, a claim prosecutors said was false.
“The appellant’s submissions do not touch any of the fundamental principles of justice enshrined in Article 28(3) of the Constitution and we find that as a matter of fact, the trial court and Court of Appeal were satisfied with evidence adduced by the prosecution that proved the involvement of the appellant beyond reasonable doubt after being satisfied that the money was fraudulently withdrawn,” Justice Tuhaise said.
The justices noted that the finding of Sserwamaba’s guilt was not based solely on the sum of sh255,000,000, but also on his participation in accessing and transferring the money to the fraudsters.
The Court further held that the conclusion that the account holders were not responsible for withdrawing $700,000 (about sh2.66 billion), $500,000 (about sh1.9 billion) and $250,000 (about sh950 million) was based not only on identification of the fraudsters in video footage by banking officials, but also on testimony from investigating officers.
The court also upheld the order requiring the convict to refund the stolen funds, as earlier directed by the trial court.