__________________________

The lawyers representing two directors of Threeways Shipping Services, accused of theft of sh9.5b from MTN Uganda, will submit no case to answer on January 15, 2024.

The Anti-Corruption Court in Kololo, Kampala presided over by Justice Lawrence Gidudu last year adjourned the case for oral submission by defence lawyers Henry Kyarimpa and Yusuf Nuwamanya.

Oscar Baitwa and Geoffrey Bihamaiso are accused of stealing sh9.5b belonging to MTN Uganda Limited, between 2009 and 2012, which allegedly arose from shipping goods on behalf of the telecom.

After the submission by the defence, the prosecution led by Abigail Agaba shall be asked by the court to respond to the defence submission.

Upon submission, the court will rule whether the accused persons have a case to answer or not. 

In the alternative charge, the prosecution said the accused, with intent to defraud, obtained sh9.5b from MTN Uganda by false pretence.

In another count, the prosecution alleges that the accused conspired to steal sh9.5b from MTN Uganda. They denied the charges and the burden to prove the case lies with the prosecution, not the accused.

Initially, former MTN employees — accountants John Paul Basabose and Naphtali Were— were charged alongside Baitwa and Bihamaiso before the same court, but Basabose pleaded guilty through a plea bargain.

He agreed with the Director of Public Prosecutions and refunded some money to MTN, and charges against him were subsequently dropped. Were have since passed on.

The DPP also discontinued proceedings against two other employees of the Threeways chief finance officer Waiswa Kafuuko and logistics officer Faridah Senkumba.

Charges against the two directors Baitwa and Bihamaiso have been maintained.