Former Principal Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Geoffrey Kazinda has been found guilty of Maintaining a standard of living beyond his income.
Anticorruption court Judge Magret Tibulya delivered her judgement this morning in the only remaining IGG case against Kazinda, after the Constitutional court halted all cases the Director Public Prosecution (DPP) had preferred against Kazinda in August this year.
The Constitutional court said that Kazinda should be discharged from any future cases before the Anticorruption court that were founded on similar facts arising out of his employment in the Office of the Prime Minister.
But according to the Public Relations Officer in the Office of the IGG Ali Munira, she clarified that the Inspectorate of Government was not bound by the Constitutional court decision, hence todays guilty verdict against Kazinda.
Justice Tibulya has now convicted Kazinda on 3 counts of illicit enrichment.
The IGG has proved that between 2009 and 2012 Kazinda was in control and possession of 210mshs which he spent on renting apartments from Sheraton hotel for a period of 10mths, four motor vehicles worth 769mshs, and 3.6billion shs Land Kazinda illicitly accumulated while in office all of which accumulated wealth totals to 4.6 Billion Shillings.
To the IGG, Kazinda had only declared his salary and allowances amounting to 83.7mshs as his known source of income.
One of the Prosecution witnesses who testified against Kazinda was George Byaruhanga a friend to Kazinda’s late father. Byaruhanga produced a Will pertaining the exact properties of Kazinda’s father minus the 3.6billion shs Land Kazinda illicitly accumulated while in office.
The trial:
On August 10, The Anti-Corruption Court ruled that it will continue hearing the case of illicit enrichment against Kazinda, despite the Constitutional Court order for his release from prison on other corruption charges.
When the case came up for further hearing, Kazinda’s defence lawyer Ali Hussein Kato told trial judge how the Constitutional Court last Friday halted all corruption proceedings against his client that arose from his employment at OPM.
The prosecution led by Ms Daizy Acio, a prosecutor from the Office of the Inspector General of Government (IGG), clarified that the Constitutional Court stopped other cases but did not halt the hearing of the case of illicit enrichment against Kazinda. She asked the presiding judge to proceed with the trial on the said charge.
The prosecution quoted the Constitutional Court’s judgment where it stated; “This finding, however, excludes criminal case no. 59/2016 on charges of illicit wealth, contrary to S.33 (i) and (ii) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2009. Article 28(9) of the Constitution does not affect the charges of illicit wealth because it is not of the same character as the charges discussed above.”
The Anti-Corruption Court agreed with the IGG submissions and ruled that the hearing of illicit enrichment case would proceed.
Kazinda’s counsel informed the trial court of his intention to appeal the ruling and requested for a copy of the proceedings.