Minister Kabafunzaki bribery case: Recorded conversation played in court

KAMPALA. Recorded conversation clips between suspended junior Labour minister Herbert Kabafunzaki’s cousin and the chairman Aya group, Mr Hamid Mohammad Mohammad were on Thursday played in the Anti-Corruption court in a bid to prove the corruption charges slapped against him.
The recorded conversation featured Mr Bruce Lubowa as he had gone to the then Aya hotel, which recently rebranded to Pearl of Africa Hotel, to allegedly solicit for a bribe on behalf of the minister.

Mr Lubowa was heard advising Mr Hamid that his name had been dented and that the minister could help him clear it in the media if he gave him (Kabafunzaki) Shs50m and Shs25m to the lawyer.
The replaying of the recorded conversation in the Kololo-based court was guided by senior state prosecutor, Ms Barbra Kawuma.
Mr Hamid had been accused of sexually harassing one of his female employees, Ms Jamila Opondo at the hotel. However, he was last year cleared by DPP for lack of evidence.

The minister, who is also the Rukiga County MP, is charged alongside his political assistant Mr Brian Mugabo and his cousin Mr Lubowa.
He is accused of receiving a Shs5m bribe from Mr Hamid in exchange for clearing his name of sexual harassment allegations.
During the hearing earlier in the day, Mr Hamid narrated to court presided over by Justice Margaret Tibulya of how the minister demand for a bribe from him.

Mr Hamid told court that on April 6, last year, the minister stormed his hotel in the company of journalists and started asking causal workers questions relating to their working conditions.
And that upon finalising with the inquiry, Kabafunzaki brought up the alleged sexual harassment issue.
Mr Hamid added that on that same day, Mr Lubowa telephoned to alert him that the minister would call him the following day in a bid to clear his name.

"The minister indeed called me and asked me to go to his offices located near Central Police Station (CPS) and assured me that he has the capacity to help me out of the mess I was in but at a cost," Mr Hamid told court.
"So he said he would send Mr Lubowa and a lawyer to prepare documentation to be used at a press conference in clearing my name," he added.
Mr Hamid who was the second prosecution witness, went on to tell court that upon hearing that the minister was willing to clear his dented name but at a cost, a red flag of corruption was raised in his mind.
The 47-year-old witness added that as a precaution, he then started recording all the conversations that they had with the minister's aide as he solicited for the bribe on behalf of his boss, which voice conversations were played back in court on Thursday.

Also in his testimony yesterday, the businessman informed court that when the minister made those corruption advances known to him, he notified President Museveni, who in turn, advised him to report the matter to police leading to arrest.
Prosecution alleges that on April 8, 2017 at Kampala Serena Hotel, while in performance of his duties as the minister, Mr Kabafunzaki directly solicited for himself Shs15 million as a gratification from Mr Hamid in exchange for clearing his name from the allegations of sexual harassment.

In court count two, the State alleges that on the same day, the minister directly accepted Shs5 million as a gratification from Mr Hamid in exchange for clearing his name.
In the third count of conspiracy to commit a felony, the State alleges that between April 6 and April 8, the minister conspired with Mr Lubowa to solicit a gratification of Shs15 million from Mr Hamid for purposes of clearing his name.
He denies the allegations.

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