DPP needs sh3b to prosecute corruption cases

By Moses Walubiri

There is considerable apprehension in the judiciary that successful prosecution of corruption related cases will soon become a tall order unless the Ministry of Finance reconsiders its decision not to allocate the required sh2.5b in the financial year 2013/14 for prosecution of corruption, fraud and serious crimes.

In the 2013/14 Ministry of Justice budget estimates that are due for scrutiny by Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) has a funding gap of sh4.8b of the cash needed for criminal prosecution.

Criminal prosecution, according to judiciary spokesperson Erias Kisawuzi, entails “investigations and witness preparation and pre-trial Interviews.”

“They will definitely need facilitation because there is a lot of background work done to achieve successful prosecution of corruption cases,” Kisawuzi said as he referred this reporter to DPP spokesperson, Jane Kajugu.

However, efforts to talk to Kajugu about the likely impact of the funding gap on efforts to successfully prosecute graft cases were futile as her known phone was not available.

The Anti-corruption Division was opened in Uganda’s High Court in 2008, with the aim of expeditiously handling graft related cases as the country sought to stem the soaring incidents of mind numbing corruption.

The Court had Justice Bosco Katusi as its first head with Justice Paul Mugamba as his deputy.

The court has since handled high profile corruption cases which has turned its precincts in the leafy Kampala suburb of Kololo into a beehive of activity as notable personalities, including ministers, seek to stop the cold hand of the law from closing its noose around their necks.

Thus far, former Principal Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister, Geoffrey Kazinda and city socialites Bad Black and Meddie Ssentengo are the most notable people to be convicted by the Anti-corruption court.

This development comes at a time when proceedings in the anti-corruption court have been stayed until a petition in the Constitutional Court challenging the manner in which the court was constituted is disposed of.

Uganda, according to Transparency International - a global anti-graft watchdog – has one of the highest corruption perception indices, losing close to sh1 trillion annually, especially through flawed procurements.

This means that if loopholes bleeding the national coffers through unbridled graft are plugged, Uganda doesn’t need foreign aid and grants to finance its budget.