Following investigations into how a plane chartered by Bank of Uganda to exclusively fly in newly printed currency arrived at Entebbe Airport with excess cargo on April 27, two BoU officials have been charged with abuse of office and remanded to Luzira.
The two officers are Francis Kakeeto, 36 and Fred Vito Wanyama, 42. CID drafted the charge sheet on Wednesday and it has been received by the High Court’s Anti-Corruption Division today.
“Kakeeto Francis and Wanyama Fred Vito on the 26th April 2019 between France, Belgium and Entebbe International Airport, being employed by Bank of Uganda as Branch Manager and Assistant Branch Manager respectively while on an assignment by their employer to carry out a pre-shipment inspection of printed material in France in abuse of the authority of their offices did an arbitrary act, prejudicial to the interest of their employer, to wit, allowed the inclusion of unauthorised cargo on a cargo plane fully chartered by Bank of Uganda,” the charge sheet, sanctioned by Mike Chibita the Director of Public Prosecutions reads.
The officials are accused of corruptly neglecting to carry out their duty of pre-shipment inspection when they failed to “refute and or report the inclusion unauthorised cargo on a plane fully chartered by Bank of Uganda.
The case came to public domain last week when State House’s Anti-Corruption Unit on invitation of BoU Governor Tumusiime Mutebile to investigate the circumstances surrounding the said flight arrested several bank officials.
Reports then came out that BoU officials had printed extra Shs90 billion authentic but unauthorised currency for their own benefit. Government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said it was not extra cash but cargo belonging to 13 individuals and organisations including MTN Chairman Charles Mbire and Umar Mandela of Mandela Millers. Police spokesman Fred Enanga contradicted Ofwono when he said the investigation revolved around “excess money.”