By Racheal Najjuma
16th June 2023
The Anti-Corruption Court in Kololo has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against Geoffrey Sseremba the Undersecretary/Accounting Officer in the Office of the Prime Minister.
Sseremba snubbed court summons on Friday where he was required to take a plea on charges related to embezzlement of more than 3 billion shillings.
He is accused of causing the government a multi-billion shillings financial loss by approving payments to various OPM staff between February and June 2022, without any proper work plan or genuine activities.
On Wednesday, the Acting Senior Principal Grade One Magistrate Abert Asiimwe summoned Sseremba to appear in court today and be formally charged like his colleagues who were charged and remanded to Luzira Prison.
However, he did not turn up and instead sent his lawyer Najib Mujuzi who informed the Court that he is suffering from diarrhea, ulcers, and Hypertension.
The prosecution led by Rogers Kinobe asked the court to issue a warrant of arrest arguing that Sseremba was supposed to appear before Court on Wednesday, but he was admitted at May Clinic in Wandegeya.
According to Kinobe, the suspect promised to appear in court but later switched off his phone.
In his ruling, Asiimwe gave Sseremba time to recover but warned that should he fail to appear in court on Wednesday 21st June 2023 to enter a plea, he will issue a warrant of arrest.
On Friday, Sseremba’s co-accused appeared in court and applied for bail.
They are: Deogratius Masigazi, the Under Secretary/head of the Pacification and Development Program, Joshua Abaho, the Senior Assistant Secretary, the Principal Assistant Secretary Barbara Asasira, Emmy Tonny Ameny- the Assistant Commissioner Programs, Peter Amodoi-the Programs Officer, and the Assistant Secretary Samuel Ofungi.
The group is seeking bail on 12 counts of causing financial loss, abuse of office, and embezzlement of Shs4.5 Billion which was meant for the Karamoja Peace Initiative project.
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