The Anti-Corruption Court has issued a warrant of arrest for Parliament Office Supervisor Stella Itute after she failed to appear in court to answer charges linked to the alleged embezzlement of Parliament funds. Grade One Magistrate Esther Asiimwe issued the warrant on Tuesday following an application by prosecutors from the Inspectorate of Government (IG), who told the court that repeated efforts to trace Itute had been unsuccessful.
Brenda Kimbugwe, the Manager of Prosecutions at the IG, informed the court that all the other accused persons were present except Itute, whose whereabouts remain unknown. “We have been trying to locate her for a long time without success. We therefore pray for a warrant of arrest,” Kimbugwe told the court.
A lawyer holding brief for defence counsel Asuman Basalirwa said he could not account for Itute’s whereabouts because he was only appearing on behalf of Basalirwa, who had not yet arrived in court. After hearing both sides, Magistrate Asiimwe granted the prosecution’s request and ordered all police officers in Uganda to arrest Itute on sight and produce her before the Anti-Corruption Court on August 10, 2026, when the case returns for mention.
Itute is accused of embezzling Shs75 million, the smallest amount among the sums allegedly misappropriated by the accused persons in the case. Sources indicate that when her co-accused were arrested earlier this month, Itute was reportedly away from Parliament on leave. Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Court was informed that the High Court will hear bail applications filed by Itute’s co-accused on August 3, 2026.
Defence lawyers asked the magistrate to issue production warrants to enable prison authorities to present the accused before the High Court for the hearing. However, Magistrate Asiimwe declined, explaining that production warrants for High Court proceedings must be issued by the High Court itself. “If the High Court fixed the bail hearing, it will issue the necessary production warrants,” the magistrate ruled.
Itute is jointly charged with seven other Parliament officials over alleged embezzlement, money laundering and causing financial loss to the government amounting to more than Shs27 billion. Her co-accused are Chris Obore Ariko, the Director of Communications and Public Affairs; Daniel Adilo, Director of Human Resource; Leonard Okema, Executive Secretary in the Office of the Speaker; Rajab Kaaya Ssemalulu, Principal Research Officer; Emmanuel Emuron Okwi, Principal Protocol Officer; Vincent Otebata, Capacity Development Officer; and Methods Murebe, Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Parliamentary Cooperative Savings and Credit Society (SACCO).
According to the charge sheet, Obore is accused of embezzling Shs5.253 billion, Adilo Shs14.609 billion, Okema Shs3.489 billion, Rajab Kaaya Ssemalulu Shs2.170 billion, Emmanuel Emuron Okwi Shs1.105 billion, Itute Shs75 million and Otebata Shs5.253 billion. Prosecutors allege that the accused accessed the funds by virtue of their positions in Parliament and diverted money intended for parliamentary donations and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, causing a financial loss of Shs27.201 billion to the Government of Uganda.
In addition, Obore, Adilo, Okema, Rajab Kaaya Ssemalulu, Otebata and Murebe also face money laundering charges. The prosecution alleges that between January 2023 and April 2026, the six processed, approved and received Shs10.893 billion, knowing that the money was the proceeds of crime. The accused persons, who have been on remand since July 2, 2026, were returned to Luzira Prison, where they will remain until August 10 as investigations continue-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
