Seasoned Kampala lawyer who also doubles as Mityana South legislator Richard Kizito Lumu has threatened to lead a team of lawyers to petitioned Uganda Law Council contesting the actions of Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Norbert Mao of violating legally issued court orders.

Lumu claimed that Mao intentionally violated a Court Order issued by High Court Registrar Fasial Mulalira stopping Democratic Party (DP) National Executive Committee meeting which was held in Mbale city.

Lumu explained that the Court Order resulted from a recent High Court judgment declaring Mao’s election as the DP presidential general illegal.

However Mao insists that the said Court Order is fake and that it was forged by his competitors in the party who are challenging his political marriage with president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s government.

Mao boasted that he is a highly trained lawyer who has been in legal practice since 1994 and he has enough experience to differentiate a fake Court Order and a real one.

However, Counsel Lumu gave Mao only 24 hours from Sunday evening to report to police the complaint of forging a Court Order or they petition the Law Council.

“Mao used his office as a minister in Museveni’s government to report the complaint to police and cause the arrest of the lawyer who extracted the Court Order. We are taking him to the Law Council for disciplinary action,” Lumu said.

He claims that all the resolutions passed in the DP NEC meeting in Mbale are illegal and they are going to challenge them before the Courts of law.

By Hadijjah Namagembe

Omutaka Ssalongo Augustine Kizito Mutumba the head of Kkobe clan who also doubles as the Speaker of Buganda Kingdom clan heads council is in huge trouble over the accusation of shielding Kingdom officials cited in the gruesome assassination of Ndiga (sheep) clan head Eng. Daniel Bbosa Lwomwa.

Highly placed sources in the clan heads Council have told theGrapevine that a section of clan heads have already placed Mutumba on notice and threatened to file a complaint with Brig. Gen. Christopher Ddamulira Sserunjogi’s Commandant of Police’s Directorate of Crime Intelligence and Maj. Dr. Tom Magambo’s Commandant of Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) who are leading the investigations concerning Bossa’s assassination accusing him of obstructing justice.

One of the clan heads said that they passed a resolution in their meeting directing their council executive chaired by Mutumba to write to Ronald Muwenda Mutebi the Kabaka of Buganda asking for an emergency meeting with them to privately discuss the matters concerning Bossa’s assassination so that he can guide them on the way forward but he intentionally refused to execute the directive.

This clan head explained that they wanted to meet Kabaka Mutebi to reveal to him their fears which if not handled carefully could lead to their death since a number of people who they are complaining against are untouchables in Buganda Kingdom administration.

“We gave him together with his executive committee two weeks to write to Kabaka and he was supposed to brief us on the developments during last month’s meeting but when we tried to remind him, he just told us to be patient. He explained that our issue is being handled properly and asked us to first welcome Omuttaka Eria Lwasi Buzaabo the new Ndiga clan head to the council which we did. Since then, he has not responded to us whether via our WhatsApp group or in any other form,” a clan head said.

He added that they wanted to report to Kabaka Mutebi how Mengo administration under the leadership of Premier Charles Peter Mayiga are using Kingdom cultural court (Kkooti ya kisekwa) to harass and torment them.

He added that there is a lot of corruption in Kisekwa kkooti. He narrated how members sitting on it use their clerks like a one Milly Naluwenda to intimidate them and solicit for bribe from them as a condition to help them win cases slapped on them on grounds that they are not legally the heads their clans.

Naluwenda is among the five suspects were who joined Noah Derrick Lugya who is suspected to have pulled the trigger during the killing of Lwomwa.  They were charged and remanded to Luzira prison.

The suspected master planner of the entire assassination Tabula Bossa Lugya is on run and is expected to be hiding in the think forests on lake Victoria shores in Kalangala island. Police has already placed a Shs20m bounty on his head as a reward to any person who will help them to arrest him so that he is charged in courts of law.

As the fight to arrest Tabula continues, clan heads led by those who are battling with cases before Kisekwa kkooti include: Ffumbe clan head, Nsenene clan, Ngabi clan, Nkima clan, Enyonyi Nakisinge, Mamba and others. The clan heads also want to get an explanation from Kabaka himself why the appeals made before him as the Supreme court when it comes to cultural issues in Buganda are delaying.

He added that chances were there to meet Kabaka before he traveled abroad in March because he spent a lot of time in his Mengo palace meeting a number of people.

However, when contacted, Mutumba denied having any knowledge concerning the said resolution to write a letter to Kabaka.

He explained that the matter they wanted to drag him into is criminal in nature and is still under investigation.

“All of us were hurt by our colleague’s assassination but we should not use his death to solve our problems and grievances. Let them show you the minutes which we based on to pass such a resolution,” Mutumba said.

He asked his colleagues to be patient, noting that the Kabaka will meet them at the right time.

He added that they cannot force the king to meet them because he knows whatever is going on in their council given that minutes and resolutions for every meeting are always given to him.

It should be noted that Mayiga reported to Kabaka’s subject that their King is out of the country. He traveled to Europe to see his medical doctors.

Sources divulged that the Kabaka is expected into the country in May and it is the reason why he is not going to attend his birthday party on 15^th of May 2024. Kabaka also missed his 69^th birthday run last week and was represented by his sister Agnes Nabaloga Lubuga.

Since 2019, Kabaka Mutebi has been receiving treatment abroad and highly placed sources claim that he is suffering from cancer even though Mayiga informed his subject that he is suffering from Allergy.

By Hadijjah Namagembe

Three more suspects from Equity bank multimillion fraud case have been arraigned before the Magistrates Court of the Anti-corruption Division on charges of Conspiracy to defraud and remanded to Luzira prison.

The accused persons are; Godfrey Mukwaya and Robert Mugumya, all former employees of Airtel Uganda and Fred Kato a former head of Small and Medium Enterprises at Equity Bank.

Prosecution alleges that Mukwaya, a former sales manager at Airtel Uganda used different people to open up bank accounts through which the bank was defrauded of more than Shs10bn.

State further alleges that Mugumya is linked to 179 fictitious companies that were created to defraud Equity bank and he used different persons to obtain more than Shs35 billion.

The presiding Magistrate Abert Asiimwe did not allow the accused persons to plead to the charges reasoning that they are joined on the case file involving money laundering which is triable by the High Court.

“While this court has powers to handle the case of conspiracy, this one is emanating from money laundering. I advise that you will plead to the charges in the High Court which has powers to entertain all the cases,” Asiimwe said.

The three suspects charged brings the charged number to eight.

On March 20, 2024, five people among them employees of Equity Bank were charged over accusations of money laundering in regard to disbursement of Shs62bn of unsecured loans to unqualified persons.

The first suspects were arraigned before the Anti-corruption Magistrates Court on charges of obtaining credit by false pretense, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud.

The remanded suspects are; the head of Agency Banking at Equity Bank Julius Musiime, Erina Nabisubi a relationship manager for telecom, Fred Semwogerere (Banker), Tumuhimbise Crescent Tibarwesereka (relationship officer) and Wycliff Asiimwe a distribution and marketing consultant with a microfinance facility.

State alleges that between the 2021 and 2024 at Equity Bank in Kampala City, Nabisubi being a person employed as a relationship manager in charge of Telecom incurred a debt of Shs6.55bn from Equity bank falsely representing that the loans were being applied for by Najjemba Gladys who she fronted as having fulfilled the bank requirements to access the loans whereas not.

State added that Nabisubi also incurred a debt of Shs300m from Equity Bank falsely representing that the loans were being applied for by Nagawa Latiffa who she fronted as having fulfilled the bank requirements to access the loans whereas not.

It is alleged that between 2021 and 2024 at Equity Bank headquarters situated at Church House in Kampala, Nabisubi intentionally impeded the establishment of the true ownership of Shs6.5bn which she fraudulently obtained from Equity Bank as loan through account number 1032100370335 in the name of Najjemba Gladys purporting that the said funds were applied for by Najjemba Gladys as a loan whereas not knowing that the said funds were a proceed of crime.

State further alleges that Musiime intentionally concealed the true ownership of Shs18 million which he received as gratification from Mutuuza Stella for having fraudulently processed a loan of Shs700m from Equity Bank by requiring her to deposit the said gratification on account number 1013101211316 in the name of Gilbert Rwaiheru Kiiza knowing that the said deposits were a proceed of crime.

According to the charge sheet, in the year 2021 and 2024 at different places in Kampala and Wakiso districts; Musiime, Nabisubi, Ssemwogerere, Tumuhimbise , Asiimwe, Kato, Mugumya and Mukwaya conspired together to defraud Equity Bank of Shs62bn by fraudulently causing the disbursement of unsecured loans to unqualified people.

By Grapevine Reporter