Sh60b heist: Witness says public finance software was hacked
Dr Edward Sengonzi Damulira, now the Clerk to Parliament-designate, told court that he was unable to establish whether the hackers were insiders within the finance ministry or external actors. “I realised that the system had been hacked when I learnt that the money had been diverted,” Damulira testified.
Ssemakula is facing the charges alongside Jennifer Muhuruzi, the former Commissioner for Treasury Services and Asset Management; Pedson Twesigomwe, an assistant commissioner for accounts; and Tony Yawe, a senior information technology (IT) officer.
KAMPALA - The former finance ministry undersecretary and accounting officer has told court that the upgraded software designed to manage public financial operations was hacked, resulting in the loss of sh60 billion from Bank of Uganda (BoU) through fraudulent payment transactions.
However, Dr Edward Sengonzi Damulira, now the Clerk to Parliament-designate, told court that he was unable to establish whether the hackers were insiders within the finance ministry or external actors.
“I realised that the system had been hacked when I learnt that the money had been diverted,” Damulira testified.
He was on Thursday (November 12) being cross-examined by defence lawyers led by Mwesigwa Rukutana in a case in which former Accountant General Lawrence Ssemakula and eight other finance ministry officials are accused of orchestrating the alleged theft of sh60b from BoU.
The Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court was presided over by Justice David Makumbi.
The witness told court that finance ministry officials had raised concerns over the performance of the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), citing its failure to filter out junk email data and slow processing speeds.
The court heard that the IFMS was upgraded in 2022, alongside the budgeting system and the Electronic Government Procurement System (e-GP), at a cost of sh26b.
The court also heard that, in 2024, following a malfunction in the emailing system, the finance ministry released an additional sh169m to fund repairs to the IFMS, enabling it to remain operational for a further six months
The case has been adjourned to January 25, 2027, for further hearing.
The case
Ssemakula is facing the charges alongside Jennifer Muhuruzi, the former Commissioner for Treasury Services and Asset Management; Pedson Twesigomwe, an assistant commissioner for accounts; and Tony Yawe, a senior information technology (IT) officer.
Others are Paul Nkalubo Lumala, an IT systems officer; Deborah Dorothy Kusiima, a senior accountant; Judith Ashaba, an accountant; Bettina Nayebare, a research assistant accountant; and Mark Kasiiku, an IT specialist.
The accused have denied charges of corruption, causing financial loss, money laundering and electronic fraud.
It is alleged that Twesigomwe, Kusiima and Lumala, between September 9 and 11, 2024, participated as accomplices in the offence of corruption by allegedly concealing the irregular payment of $6,134,137 (sh22.5b) to an unauthorised payee, Roadway Company Limited.
Yawe is accused of irregularly altering payment instructions for sh22.5b that was supposed to be paid to the International Development Association (IDA) as principal and interest.
He allegedly substituted the intended payee with Roadway Company Limited, purporting that the payment was for a recycling plant and machinery, with the aim of unlawfully benefiting the company.
The prosecution also alleges that, between September 20 and October 1, 2024, Kasiiku manipulated payment instruction files for $391,720 (sh1.4b), which was supposed to be paid to the IDA, resulting in the money being paid to MJS International London, a company that was not entitled to the payment.
The prosecution further alleges that, in January 2024, Yawe deliberately manipulated payment instruction files in the IFMS, using deception and with the intention of securing an unlawful gain.
He allegedly changed the payment details from the intended payee, the International Development Association in Washington, to an unintended payee, the International Development Association Sielska in Poznan, Poland, involving $6,674,320 (sh24.5b).
Kasiiku, on the other hand, is accused of introducing executable-like scripts into the Oracle programme on the IFMS, resulting in an unauthorised payment of $8,596,824 (sh31.5b) to MJS International London between September 23 and 27, 2024.