Shs13b silo project for Uganda prisons mired in controversy 

A  Shs13 billion project to design, supply, and install silos for Uganda Prisons Services has become a subject of controversy due to a shareholder dispute between Taifa Partners Limited and Davanti Union Limited.

While testifying before the Buganda Road Court presided over by the Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi, the Deputy Head of Questioned Documents at the Directorate of Forensic Services in the Uganda Police Force, Clare Hashikamana explained that her role involves examining documents to establish authorship, detect counterfeit documents, and identify alterations.

“I was asked to examine five documents, including a special resolution dated July 15, 2022, powers of attorney dated July 18, 2022, a special resolution from April 27, 2022, and two board resolutions from May 2022. The documents bore signatures allegedly attributed to Charles Okello. Upon examining the signatures we found out that they were not for Okello,” Ms Hashikamana testified.
When asked by one of the defense lawyers Mr Stanley Okecho whether in her findings and report found evidence that Asiimwe had forged the special resolution dated July 15, 2022, or the power of attorney, Ms Hashikamana responded in the negative.
 
Ms Hashikamana was testifying in a case in which one of  Taifa’s partner and shareholder, Mr Emmanuel Asiimwe  is accused by Davanti Union(owned by Mr Joseph Kamusiime), a money lender of ten charges of  forging signatures on board resolutions, powers of attorney, and false documents.
The team of defense lawyers from Gem Advocates also questioned Ms Hashikamana about the laboratory's ISO certification, standards for examining questioned documents, and the chain of custody of the evidence. Hashikamana clarified that while the laboratory is not ISO certified, it follows ISO/IEC 17025 standards.

Court documents indicate that Taifa Partners Limited, in a joint venture with Perry Engineering Services, was awarded the contract in 2022 for the supply of Grain processing and silo facility at Ibuga/ Rwimi prison to which they approached Davanti Union to finance the project by securing a performance bond.
However, a dispute arose between Mr Asiimwe who holds 90 percent shares and Mr Kamusiime, a former operative of the Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce who held 10 percent shares over the project's finances.
Court documents indicate that before Davanti Union acquired the 10 percent shareholding, the shares were owned by Mr Okello, a director and secretary who held 5 percent.
 
"Prior to Davanti's involvement, I (Asiimwe) held 90 percent of the shares in Taifa Partners Limited, which was in a joint venture with Perry Engineering Services for the Uganda Prisons Services project. After Davanti Union Limited came on board, we signed an agreement where they would finance the project, recover their investment from the performance bond, and then we would share the profits equally, 50 percent each," reads in part the court documents.
 

However, the defense lawyers claim that Davanti Union conspired with Okello and Assa Tumwesigye, Asiimwe's nephew, to falsely accuse him (Asiimwe) of forging resolutions after reviewing Taifa's potential for future projects. The alleged plan was to have Asiimwe imprisoned before the Uganda Prisons Service made the final payment, at a time when the project was substantially complete and awaiting payment.
 
When the trial Chief Magistrate, Mr Kayizzi questioned Mr Kamusiime's motives as it is not his signature that was forged with the incident happening before he joined the company, he( Kamusiime) responded that he was acting out of concern .
 
According to the charge sheet, the prosecution alleges that Asiimwe, 49, a businessman with Taifa Partners and others still at large between July 15 and 20, 2022 forged powers of attorney, falsely claiming that Asiimwe had been appointed the representative for the Uganda Prisons contract, replacing Assa Tumwesigye. It is also alleged that Asiimwe knowingly and fraudulently uttered a false document at the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) at Georgian House, Kampala, in the form of a forged special resolution.
 
It is further alleged that the resolution was signed by Okello, the then-company secretary, but was not.
 
The charge sheet further indicates that Asiimwe forged another special resolution dated April 27, 2022, purporting that he had been appointed the sole signatory to the company’s account at I&M Bank in Kampala, and that it had been approved by Okello whereas not.
The conflict stems from allegations of forgery and predatory money-lending practices. 
Mr Kayizzi adjourned the case to January 10, 2025 for further hearing of the case.
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