By KT Reporter
Two Fort Portal city officials, Richard Kagaba Ndora, Acting Deputy Town Clerk, and Ben Mutooro Musinguzi, an Office Assistant and Records Officer, were remanded to prison by the Anti-Corruption Division Court on Monday for alleged abuse of office through forgery of appointment letters.
The duo appeared before Grade One Magistrate Christopher Opit and pleaded not guilty to the charges of abuse of office. They are jointly accused with Susan Kyomuhendo, a Senior Assistant Secretary, who has yet to appear in court.
The State House Anti-Corruption Unit, in collaboration with the Uganda Police Force, conducted investigations that led to their arrest. The prosecution alleges that between November 2022 and July 2023, the accused forged appointment letters for 23 applicants without clearance from the Public Service.
These letters were backdated to June 29, 2023, in a bid to bypass a Ministry of Public Service circular issued on June 30, 2023, halting unauthorized recruitment. The prosecution asserts that the accused disregarded several Public Service guidelines on recruitment and acted against the interests of the Government of Uganda.
The suspects will remain in custody until December 4, 2024, as investigations continue. This is not the first time the accused have faced judicial action. In August 2023, they were remanded to Katojo Prison by the Fort Portal Chief Magistrate Moses Nabende for similar charges before being granted bail.
They were previously charged alongside Sylvia Kihunde, an Internal Auditor. The case was later transferred to the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala for specialized trial-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
