Police officer sues government over dismissal

A former police officer who was convicted of fraud and dismissed from the force has dragged government to court seeking compensation.

Gregory Mugisha filed his suit through his lawyers of Tumusiime, Kabega and Company Advocates in the Civil Division of High Court.

He contends that on January 29th 2008 he was appointed as Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police to head the Police department of Financial Fraud Unit where he worked until October 24th 2011 when his contract was terminated.

In August 2010, Mugisha was arraigned before the Anti-Corruption court where he was charged with abuse of office, and uttering a false document.

As a police officer investigating fraud, Mugisha, during the course of his duties received a treasury cheque valued at US Dollars 114,300.79 which he took custody of. However, the cheque was mysteriously cashed in Nairobi, Kenya by some other person.

The Uganda Police Standards Unit then received a complaint about the transaction though the cheque that was supposed to be in the custody of the Uganda Police, particularly in Mugisha.

Mugisha was then asked to explain the cheque, he submitted a copy of the cheque, insisting that it was the genuine one he had received.

However, he was found to be lying, resulting in his trial and conviction.

Mugisha was subsequently arrested and found guilty of neglect of duty and uttering a false document and sent to Luzira Prison to serve a sentence of three and two years respectively.

However, he challenged the sentence and subsequent conviction in the Court of Appeal with ten grounds including the fact that lower court judge erred in law and fact when she failed in her duty to evaluate the evidence adduced before court thereby occasioning miscarriage of justice.

Mugisha notes that as the appeal was ongoing, Uganda Police wrongly dismissed him from the force on October 24th, 2011.

Mugisha adds that he was maliciously prosecuted, arrested by Police in total abuse of Police standing orders since no right to fair hearing was accorded to him for stance; no notice of interdiction was accorded to him and no salary was paid to him after interdiction.

He narrates that even the letter dismissing him from police was never served to him in person save for learning from a fellow colleague who had seen it at the Police Headquarters.

Mugisha is now seeking a compensation of 69.5 million shillings being the money he was supposed to get in form of salary from October 24th 2011 when he was wrongly dismissed from police to date. He was earning a monthly salary of 570,000 shillings at that time.

The case file is allocated to the Head of Civil Division of High Court Justice Dr Andrew Bashaija for hearing.