Assessor recommends jailing Apac officials over sh338m loss

An assessor has advised the court to convict five officials from Apac District Local Government who are accused of causing a financial loss of sh338 million.

Flavia Kisaakye recommended that the Nakasero-based Anti-Corruption Court, presided over by Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga, find the accused guilty.

According to Kisaakye, the prosecution successfully proved the charges of causing financial loss, conspiracy to defraud, and money laundering beyond a reasonable doubt against all the accused.

Kisaakye stated that the witnesses were credible and that their evidence remained unchallenged during cross-examination.

“I therefore find all the accused persons guilty of the offences against them and I advise this honourable court to convict them accordingly,” Kisaakye said.

She further noted that the prosecution had proved that the Apac District Local Government has never recovered the lost funds.

Accused

The accused are Michael Wanje (then-chief administrative officer), Paul Ekwang (then-chief finance officer), Sam Atim (then-acting district education officer), Patrick Ebong (then-senior accounts officer), and Tom Adoko (then-human resource officer).

Three of the five accused – Adoko, Ekwang, and Ebong – were separately charged with the offence of money laundering under Section 3 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Court assessors are non-lawyers who sit alongside a judge to provide their opinions based on their understanding of the case. While their input is considered, the judge may choose to agree or disagree with their opinions.

Upon receiving the opinion, Justice Kajuga set May 23, 2025, as the date for delivering the judgment.

Prosecution’s case

The prosecution says the five accused persons respectively and irregularly processed payments as domestic arrears for district employees without following proper procedures in 2021 while still employed by Apac District Local Government, causing a loss of sh338 million.

According to the prosecution, Adoko, as a human resource officer, allegedly assisted Wanje, Ekwang, Atim, and Ebong to benefit from the funds that were irregularly credited to the officials’ bank accounts as arrears. It is alleged that Adoko mobilised the officials to withdraw the funds.

The prosecution further alleges that Ekwang received sh134 million that was irregularly deposited into the accounts of five people as salary arrears, even though he knew that, at the time he received the money (between July 1 and 2, 2021), it was a proceed of crime.

Ekwang is alleged to have received money withdrawn from the accounts of Bernard Okidi, Nelson Opeto, Moses Ongol, and Patrick Ocura.

A court document indicates that Ekwang allegedly received sh35 million from Okidi, sh16 million from Opeto, sh34 million from Ongol, and sh32 million from Ocura.

The prosecution further alleges that Ebong, as a senior accounts officer, received a total of sh55 million from Eunice Achola and Betty Kabagaya, knowing the funds were proceeds of crime fraudulently deposited into their accounts.

It is alleged that from Achola’s account, Ebong received sh35 million on July 7, 2021, and sh20 million from Kabagaya’s account. All the accused denied the charges and are out on bail.

What the law says

According to Section 20 of the Anti-Corruption Act, a person who does or fails to do any act, knowing or having reason to believe that the act or omission will cause financial loss to the government, a bank, credit institution, insurance company, or public body, commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding 336 currency points (sh6.7 million) or a jail term not exceeding 14 years.

Section 3 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act states that any person convicted of the offence of money laundering is liable to 15 years in jail or a fine not exceeding sh2 billion.

Section 309 of the Penal Code Act stipulates that a person who conspires with another to commit an offence of conspiracy to defraud is liable, on conviction, to five years in jail.