Magistrate backs down in theft case
Ms Grace Balintuma at Buganda Road Court on Monday. Photo by Abubaker Lubowa
What you need to know:
Under the Public Service Standing Orders, when a civil servant is charged with a criminal matter in court, the suspect is interdicted until conclusion of the trial
Kampala. A magistrate accused of theft on Monday agreed before Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court to conclude her case through an out-of-court settlement.
Ms Grace Balintuma, a Grade One magistrate in Moroto District, is accused of theft of more than Shs40 million belonging to deceased UPDF soldiers.
In a court session conducted in the Chief Magistrate’s chambers, defence lawyer David Drani told court that his client had notified him that she was in touch with the bereaved families, and she is ready for mediation and an out-of-court settlement.
“The doctrine of reconciliation is paramount and entails the courts of judicature. I therefore, pray for an opportunity to embrace the negotiations so as to avoid prosecution of the accused,” Mr Drani said.
In response, a member of one of the families, Mr Edgar Mugisha, told court that if the accused had opted for an out-of-court settlement, she should be ready to agree to the terms they will set and the negotiations should not exceed one week.
Ms Balintuma is charged with two counts of theft and two counts of intermeddling in property of a deceased person contrary to the Administrator General’s Act. The State prosecutor, Mr Peter Mugisha, had lined up seven witnesses.
The allegations
Prosecution contends that the accused committed the offences when she was a magistrate at Buganda Road Court about three years ago. The prosecution states that on October 22, 2009, at Housing Finance Bank in Kampala, the accused, while working at the court, stole Shs32 million belonging to Capt Charles Karemera. It is further stated that Ms Balintuma appropriated Capt Karemera’s property without authorisation of the Administrator General.
The charge sheet also states that the implicated magistrate, between November 2004 and June 2012 at Housing Finance Bank, meddled in the property of the late Lt Edmond Mujuni and on August 16, 2013 stole more than Shs14 million belonging to the deceased.
Case adjourned
The trial magistrate, Ms Lillian Bucyana, adjourned the matter to April 20 when parties will report back to brief court on the outcomes of the negotiations.
The rule
Under the Public Service Standing Orders, when a civil servant is charged with a criminal matter in court, the suspect is interdicted until conclusion of the trial. This means she is entitled to half-pay until the case is concluded.
