Police officer acquitted over sh500,000 bribery charges

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The Anti-Corruption Court in Nakasero has acquitted a police officer who had been accused of soliciting and receiving a bribe of shillings 500,000.

Principal Grade One Magistrate Paul Mujuni acquitted Mandellor Roberts Ajuna after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

In his judgment, Mujuni said the prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence to show that the accused received the alleged gratification from Ronald Stephen Serufuusa.

“I find the prosecution has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused accepted gratification of shillings 500,000 from Serufuusa. Since an essential ingredient on count two has not been proved beyond doubt, it would be academic to evaluate the next ingredient. I therefore acquit the accused of the second count of corruption and set him free forthwith,” Mujuni said.

It had been alleged that Ajuna, together with another person still at large, in January 2022 at Mukono Police Station, while employed as a detective with the Uganda Police Force, solicited a bribe of sh500,000 from Serufuusa, a complainant in Mukono CRB 13/2022, in exchange for excluding him as a suspect in the case.

The prosecution had further alleged that in the same month and capacity, the accused received the sh500,000 from Serufuusa in return for excluding him as a suspect in the same case.

The magistrate, Mujuni, said the evidence presented by the prosecution created doubt in the mind of the court and could not be relied upon to secure a conviction. He added that there was no audio recording of the accused demanding the money, either for himself or for another person.

While delivering the judgment on March 12, 2026, Mujuni further stated that once there is doubt in the prosecution’s case, it must be resolved in favour of the accused. He noted that the prosecution’s case was riddled with contradictions, making it unreliable for a conviction.

“Further doubt is created by the fact that the trap money was being taken to Alex Olega. If it was accused demanding, the money would have been meant for him and not for onward delivery to Olega, since he was the Investigating officer in this case. It is trite law that any reasonable doubt is resolved in favour of accused. Further, it is a principal of law that accused is convicted on the strength of prosecution case and not on weakness of defence case,” Mujuni said.