I resigned over fraud tendencies at UHRC-whistle blower tells court

COURT | UHRC | WHISTLE BLOWER

A whistle blower has testified that she resigned from Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) in anticipation of more scandals that could taint her career. 

The 38-year-old whistle blower made the revelation Wednesday while testifying in a case in which six interdicted Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) are accused of embezzling sh100m.

Wilfred Muganga Asiimwe, Tadeo Wamala, Rebecca Nassuna, Willy Agirembabazi, Patrick Mabiiho Nyakana and Rebecca Agnes Tino are battling charges of embezzlement and abuse of office before Anti-Corruption judge Lawrence Gidudu. 

"I resigned because of acts of impropriety at the commission. I was not ready to get into this because I value my career," whistle blower testified. 

The whistle blower who testified under the guidance of state attorney Moses Stanley Baine revealed that Muganga deposited sh25m on her account but he later told her to credit sh20m to his personal account.  Muganga currently on interdiction is the director in charge of regional offices at UHRC. 

"I received a call from Muganga informing me that sh19m was going to be credited on UHRC Mbarara region office account for civil education and another sh25m to be credited on my account and that I should not inform the director in charge of finance because she was not aware of it," the whistle blower revealed. 

The whistle blower disclosed that she deposited sh20m on Muganga's account in housing finance bank.    

"When I informed him that I had deposited the money on his account, he told me to use sh5m balance to celebrate Christmas, something that disturbed me.  I later informed commissioner Med Mulumba because I believed he would handle the matter," the whistle blower noted. 

The whistle blower further revealed that on January 14, 2019, she contacted Mulumba to know the status of the matter but he instead asked her to put the complaint in writing and refer it to State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) because the commission was not interested in the matter. 

"After writing my complaint, I called former chairperson Medi Kaggwa informing him that I was resigning over acts of impropriety at the commission. I resigned on May 13, 2019," the whistle blower said. 

Asked why she never returned the remaining balance of sh5m, the whistle blower said Mulumba advised her not to return it because it would blow her cover as a whistle blower. 

The whistle blower further disclosed that Muganga sent his account to her through a text message. 

Although the whistle blower told court that she submitted deposit slip and bank statement to the police, they were missing on the file and were not tendered in court as exhibits. 

The charge  

It is alleged that the accused in the month of November 2018 while being employed by UHRC unlawfully did an arbitrary act prejudicial to the interest of their employer by irregularly requisitioning sh100m, which they later transferred to their personal accounts contrary to the laws.