Trial for Geraldine Ssali and co-accused set for December

Kampala, Uganda | URN | The trial of former Ministry of Trade Permanent Secretary Geraldine Ssali and five co-accused is to begin on December 5th, 2026. Geraldine Ssali and some members of Parliament were charged in relation to the 3.8-billion-shilling war loss compensation.

The fixing of the trial date by the Anti-Corruption Court on Wednesday was announced by Lady Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga.

Kajuga had earlier dismissed an application seeking to halt the proceedings pending an appeal before the Constitutional Court.

The Judge declined an application by former Busiiki County MP Paul Akamba to stay the criminal proceedings until the determination of his appeal arising from a human rights enforcement case.

Akamba had complained of alleged abduction, assault and incommunicado detention and sought, among other remedies, the nullification of the criminal proceedings against him following his re-arrest sometime over corruption-related charges.

But the Constitutional Court ruled that human rights enforcement applications shouldn’t be used to escape criminal responsibility.     Akamba then appealed to the Supreme Court.

It is for that reason that he wanted the Judge of the Anti-Corruption Court to halt the trial pending the decision from the Supreme Court.

However, Justice Kajuga ruled that the alleged human rights violations, while serious, were not sufficiently connected to the corruption case to justify stopping the trial.

“All these are serious violations, and I am not in any way belittling them,” Justice Kajuga said.

She added that the remedies Akamba was seeking, including damages and nullification of the criminal proceedings, did not make the allegations so closely linked to the criminal trial. She reasoned that allowing the prosecution not to proceed would result in a miscarriage of justice.

The judge also noted that Akamba had filed another application seeking to stay the hearing of his human rights enforcement case, which was yet to be heard.

She said that if that application succeeded, there would be no basis for continuing with the criminal prosecution.

Justice Kajuga was further concerned about the delay in the corruption case, which was committed to the Anti-Corruption Court in June 2024 but has yet to hear a single witness.

“It is important that cases are heard and that they are heard quickly. Since June 2024, not even one witness has testified,” she said.

The judge said she had considered the interests of all the accused, who have continued appearing in court while the case remained pending.

“I can imagine the toll it has taken on them to keep reporting from 2024 till now. We are ending 2026, and no trial has started,” she said.

She ruled that there was no justification for staying the proceedings and ordered that the case proceed.

The trial will only be halted if the Director of Public Prosecutions withdraws the charges or the Supreme Court issues a stay concerning implementation of the Constitutional Court decision.

The decision followed an earlier ruling by Justice Kajuga allowing the prosecution to amend the indictment against Ssali and her co-accused and directing them to take plea afresh.

Ssali,  Igara East County MP Michael Maranga Mawanda,  Elgon County MP Ignatius Wamakuyu Mudimi, former Busiki County MP Akamba, lawyer Julius Kirya Taitankoko, and Registrar Leonard Kavundira denied the amended charges when they were read to them before the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court.

The amended indictment contains 12 counts, including diversion of public resources, receiving stolen property, stealing by an agent, money laundering, abuse of office, causing financial loss, and conspiracy to defraud.

The prosecution alleges that the accused were involved in the diversion of Shs3.868 billion intended to compensate Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society Limited for war losses.

Kirya is accused of transferring Shs3.578 billion to various individuals, while Mawanda, Mudimi and Akamba face allegations of receiving or converting portions of the money.

Ssali, who was Permanent Secretary and Accounting Officer at the Ministry of Trade, is accused of abusing her office by irregularly introducing Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society among cooperatives to be compensated for war losses.

She is also accused of authorising payments totalling Shs3.868 billion to Kirya and Company Advocates, allegedly contrary to Treasury Instructions.

It is also alleged that the six accused, together with other people still at large, conspired to defraud the government of the Shs3.868 billion intended for war-loss compensation.

Justice Kajuga allowed the amended indictment after rejecting defence objections, noting that the prosecution had sought the amendment at an early stage of the proceedings, before witnesses had testified and before the preliminary hearing had been concluded.

She also ruled that the additional money-laundering counts were supported by the summary of evidence supplied to the defence.

The judge directed the accused to plead afresh to the amended indictment and cautioned that the defence would have an opportunity to raise any concerns should the prosecution introduce matters that were entirely new during the trial.

They denied the charges.