The former Principal Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister-OPM Geoffrey Kazinda, will spend another five years in jail for stealing Shillings 316 million tax payers’ money. Justice Lawrence Gidudu of the Anti-Corruption court convicted Kazinda and three others this afternoon.
The other convicts are Beatrice Kezabu, an assistant in the OPM, Shamim Masembe the Proprietor of Total fuel Station in Ntinda and her manager, Hussein Katumwa. It came after Justice Gidudu found the four guilty embezzling more than Shillings 316million, conspiracy to defraud, utterance of false documents and false accounting.
The money was meant for fuel for the post-war reconstruction scheme in Northern Uganda and Karamoja sub-region under the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan. However, unlike Kazinda, Justice Gidudu sentenced the three to fines ranging between Shillings 10million and 50million on ground that they were not the masterminds behind the theft of Shillings 316million.
"Accused persons 2, 3 and 4 are sentenced to fines given that they jumped on the theft bandwagon after their master planner Kazinda had crafted the plot," Justice Gidudu said. Beatrice Keezabu is to pay a fine of Shillings 50 million because court found her guilty of facilitating the said theft by making false entries on the Fuel Order forms well knowing that no fuel had been drawn.
Justice Gidudu also sentenced Shamim Masembe and Hussein Katumwa to a fine of Shillings 10 million each for helping Kazinda realize the fruits of his crimes as they let their fuel station former Caltex Ntinda to be used as the conduit for the theft. The convicts have also been ordered to refund the Shillings 316 million to government coffers.
They are also to keep away from public service employment for the next 10years. Keezabu, Masembe and Katumwa are to deposit their fines before they are released or face spend a year in Luzira Prisons. Kazinda has just completed his 5 year jail sentence handed to him in June 2013 after he was found guilty of forging the signature of Pius Bigirimana, the then OPM Permanent Secretary.
He is also jointly charged with officials from the Finance Ministry for alleged misappropriation of Shillings 21billion under PRDP for the rehabilitation of war torn Northern Uganda.
