Judge asked me for Shs500m bribe - lawyer

What you need to know:

Pinned. While apprearing before Parliament, Mr Bob Kasango said the judge asked him for a bribe in order to work on his payment.

Parliament.A High Court judge who last week named city lawyer Bob Kasango in the pension scam was yesterdayalso accused of soliciting Shs500 million bribe in the same matter.
Offering to refund Shs7.8 billion to the government, Mr Kasango told MPs that Mr John Eudes Keitirima asked him for the money.
Mr Kasango and Mr Christopher Obey, the interdicted principal accountant in the Ministry of Public Service, were appearing before Public Accounts Committee investigating the pension scam to explain their role in the Shs15.4 billion scam which MPs said was “siphoned” from government using forged court documents
“When I went to see Keitirima (now a judge but was a registrar then) on this matter, he said “I am going to work on the file but you will look after me’. I said, ‘Your Honour, do your job’ and I walked out of his office,” Mr Kasango said.
After this, Mr Kasango said he received a parcel of documents (certificate of costs, taxation and order) but did not know who had sent him the documents.
Mr Kasango told the committee that his friend, Hakim Asiimwe, a businessman in town, later called him on January 28, while he was on his way to Budaka District for burial and informed him that Mr Keitirima “is very bitter that I used his signature and made a lot of money and disappeared”.

Intimidated
When I returned from the burial, Mr Kasango said, “I called Mr Keitirima and we agreed to meet in his office on Sunday. He told me: “you know why we are here, I signed for you documents; you made money and went away’. He told me, ‘by a stroke of a pen I can certify the documents or refuse and you will be in trouble’.”
“For two 2 hours and 17 minutes I was in his office and I told him, ‘I know you signed the documents’. He told me how he was a poor man… I was shocked out of my skin when the judge asked for Shs500 million and gave me four days to deliver or else he takes action.”
However, Mr Kasango was accused of telling stories to the committee after he failed to adduce evidence implicating the judge. Ms Alice Alaso, the committee chairperson, promised to engage a handwriting expert to verify if Keitirima’s signature was indeed the one on the documents.

Recording edited
Ms Kasango said: “My evidence is my word, Keitirima asked for Shs500 million and I believe he recorded me to exonerate himself.”
Mr Kasango told PAC that Shs7.8 billion which is part of the Shs15 billion paid to lawyers was irregularly paid to him and others through Hall and Partners, a firm that allegedly represented some of the 6,339 pensioners in a case challenging delayed payment.
“I offered to refund the money because I never wanted to benefit from an illegality. I offered to refund Shs7.8 billion to government and my offer is still on table.”
After listening to the 38-minute recording Mr Keitirima brought to PAC last week, Mr Kasango said it is highly edited”.
At yesterday’s hearing, PAC members also asked the lawyer to respond to allegations that Mr Andrew Mwenda, a journalist and owner of The Independent magazine, received Shs100 million from Hall and Partners on January 13, 2012.
Mr Kasango, however, defended Mr Mwenda and requested the committee to keep his name out of the pension scam.
Mr Mwenda briefly appeared before the committee yesterday. Ms Alaso said he will be officially summoned to tell his side of the story. The probe continues today with Mr Obey.