The Anti-Corruption Court in Nakasero has on Friday sent Ms Geraldine Ssali – the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives to Luzira Prison after being charged with money laundering, among other charges.
Ssali was remanded without taking a plea since her crimes are capital offences which only the high court can handle.
She and her co-accused, Micheal Mawanda – Igara East Constituency legislator in Bushenyi District, Ignatius Wamakuyu Mudimi of Elgon County in Bulambuli District, Paul Akamba Busiki County in Namutumba District, and city lawyer Julius Kirya of Kirya Company Advocates remain on remand and can only seek bail from a higher court.
Ssali was arrested on Thursday and interrogated for hours by the Crime Intelligence Department – CID before she was arraigned before the Anti-Corruption Court.
Her five co-accused have been on remand for a month now.
According to the prosecution, Ssali caused financial loss to the government when she irregularly introduced Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society Ltd among the cooperatives to be compensated for war loss. Buyaka Growers was initially not among those to benefit in the supplementary budget dated August 4, -2021.
Prosecution alleges that Ms Ssali, during the financial year 2021/ 2022 and 2022/ 2023, introduced Buyaka Growers Co-operative Society among those to be compensated by the government for the war loss yet it had not been listed for a supplementary budget of August 2021.
That Ssali in further performance of her duties, made irregular payments to the tune of Shs3.868 billion to Kirya and Company Advocates, a law firm belonging to co-suspect lawyer Julius Kirya Taitankonko, under the guise of compensating war victims of Buyaka Growers well knowing that her actions will cause government a financial loss because the said payment was in contravention of the Treasury instructions of 2017.
Ms Ssali is further accused of conspiring with Igara East MP Micheal Mawanda, Elgon County MP Iganatius Wamakuyu, Busiki County MP Paul Akamba, lawyer Kirya and Kavundira to defraud the government of Shs3.4 billion which was intended to compensate war victims for Buyaka Growers Co-operative society.
