OPM: Kazinda loses bid to stop corruption trial

Kazinda loses bid to block trial in anti-corruption court

Kampala

The interdicted Principal Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr Geoffrey Kazinda, yesterday failed to block his trial at the Anti-Corruption Court.

Mr Kazinda, who was brought to court from Luzira Prison, was charged afresh with abuse of office, forgery and unlawful possession of government property. However, the counts were reduced from 36 to 29. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

In a suit he filed before the Constitutional Court last week, Mr Kazinda (pictured) had complained that the government’s action against him was discriminative, as his boss Mr Pius Bigirimana, the Permanent Secretary in the OPM, had not been charged, and was also a violation of the Constitution. As the PS, Mr Bigirimana is the chief accounting officer.

Yesterday, Mr Kazinda, who was ushered into the courtroom by two prison warders, also protested against the manner in which he was arrested, saying he was plucked from his sickbed at Case Clinic and taken into police custody.

However, the trial Judge, David Wangutusi, dismissed the application, ruling that there was no justification to stay the proceedings at the High Court. “Filing a petition does not act as an automatic stay for a court’s proceedings. It is not enough to mention that his rights have been breached. It should not just merely be talked about, but he should have explained how unconstitutional it was,” the judge said.

The judge also said that Mr Kazinda would only be tried in the High Court and not in the Parliament. “Consider things written in the papers as nothing,” Justice Wangutusi said.

Last week, the Speaker, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, asked the Public Accounts Committee to draft summons for Mr Kazinda to appear before it this week to explain the alleged loss of funds in the OPM.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com