A Ministry of Finance accountant and two Kaliro district officials have been charged with causing financial losses of Shs 1.5 billion.
John Wabwire, an accountant from the Ministry of Finance, Rebecca Kwagala, Kaliro district’s principal human resource officer, and Godfrey Mutome, the district’s chief finance officer, were arraigned before the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala. Presided over by Grade One Magistrate Esther Asiimwe, the court charged the trio with seven counts of causing financial loss.
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Court documents allege that between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2022, the accused colluded to initiate, process, and approve fraudulent gratuity and pension payments. Kwagala and Mutome are accused of initiating and approving these payments, while Wabwire allegedly processed them.
The three officials pleaded not guilty to the charges and were remanded to Luzira prison. On Friday, they were granted bail, with Kwagala and Mutome each paying Shs 3 million in cash bail and their three sureties bonded at Shs 250 million each. Wabwire was granted bail at Shs 2.5 million cash with similar surety terms. The case is scheduled for pre-trial conferencing on April 1.
This incident echoes previous cases of pension and gratuity fraud. In Pader district, principal human resource officer Aber Nancy was arrested in 2023 for allegedly withholding payments to 19 pensioners who refused to pay bribes. Similarly, high-profile scandals in the Ministry of Public Service saw late lawyer Bob Kasango and senior officials like Jimmy Lwamafa and Christopher Obey convicted for misappropriating Shs 15.4 billion meant for over 6,000 pensioners between 2011 and 2012. Kasango received a 16-year sentence, while Obey and Lwamafa were sentenced to 14 and nine years, respectively. Lwamafa was later paroled in 2023.
The military has also faced pension fraud cases. In 2017, Captain Gerald Bitindi Byamugisha and Captain Lamek M. Kimula allegedly opened fake bank accounts in the name of the late Maj Gen James Kazini’s widow to siphon Shs 62 million.
These recurring scandals highlight systemic vulnerabilities in managing pension and gratuity funds across Uganda.
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