Cheeye sent to Luzira
Lydia Mukisa & Siraje Lubwama
Kampala
Teddy Ssezi Cheeye, the director of economic affairs at the Internal Security
Organisation, was yesterday arrested and charged with embezzlement of Shs120
million worth of Global Fund money.
He was charged before Buganda Road Grade One Magistrate Geoffrey Emmanuel
Sayekwo on 26 counts, including eight of forgery, nine of making a false entry,
eight of uttering a false document, and one of embezzlement. He pleaded not
guilty to all the counts and was remanded to Luzira Prison.
“All charges are false,” he pleaded. Prosecution, led by Ms Jane Okuo Kajuga,
alleged that Mr Cheeye, 50, as director of Uganda Centre for Accountability
(UCA), stole Shs120 million worth of Global Fund money in 2005.
If convicted for embezzlement, he faces up to 14 years in jail, while uttering
false documents and forgery each carries a maximum penalty of seven years
imprisonment. Mr Cheeye, who used to have Military Police escorts, was disarmed
last month on orders of ISO Director Amos Mukumbi. So the arrest yesterday was
an easy job.
In the eight counts of forgery, prosecution alleged that Mr Cheeye, with intent
to defraud, made several receipts for different fuel stations in Masaka,
Kabale, and Mbarara showing that two vehicles (UAE 684 T and UAA 688 T) had
drawn 500 litres of petrol worth Shs12,650,900, which was not the case.
In the nine counts of making a false entry, Mr Cheeye is alleged to have made
false entries in accountability statements between March 2005 and August 2006.
“We pray that the accused be committed to High Court in respect of this trial
under provision 168 of the Magistrate’s Court Act,” said Ms Kajuga.
Magistrate Sayekwo granted the request. “You’re remanded till the next High
Court session,” Mr Sayekwo told Mr Cheeye, who will likely be the first suspect
to be tried by the newly-created Anti-corruption Court, headed by Justice John
Bosco Katutsi.
According to the summary of the indictment, the prosecution will prove that
numerous fraudulent acts were committed by Mr Cheeye in the Global Fund
scandal. One allegation is that by the time Mr Cheeye’s company, UCA, made a
contract with the Ministry of Health on February 10, 2005, the said company was
actually not in existence.
It was only registered a day later, after signing the contract, the prosecution
alleges. UCA was supposed to monitor, evaluate and supervise Global Fund
project implementers in the districts of Rakai, Kabale, Ntungamo and Mbarara.
The company had applied for and received Shs120 million from the government by
the time the Global Fund Secretariat suspended grants to Uganda over alleged
mismanagement.
“Fuel accountability totaling about Shs16 million were also found to be
fraudulent. For example, Vehicle No. UAE 684 T was said to have consumed petrol
from several stations in and out of Kampala yet investigations revealed that
the vehicle actually has a diesel engine and the registered owner denied ever
hiring, lending or giving the same to UCA,” Ms Kajuga said in a summary of the
indictment.
In late 2005, Principal Judge James Ogoola led an inquiry into mismanagement of
Global Fund grants to Uganda. The inquiry unearthed cases ranging from abuse of
office to diversion of funds.
Then health minister Jim Muhwezi and his deputies, Mike Mukula and Alex
Kamugisha refused to take political responsibility for alleged mismanagement of
the grants. They are being investigated over allegations that they lied under
oath during the Ogoola inquiry. Both men deny any wrongdoing, saying the
charges are politically motivated.
President Museveni recently wrote to the Police, asking that the
recommendations of the Ogoola report be implemented with a view to prosecuting
the suspects.
Mr Cheeye becomes the first suspect to be charged over the Global Fund scandal.
His prosecution and the creation of the court appears like an increase in the
political will to fight corruption but that it remains to be seen how many
people, including higher-ranking government officials, will face prosecution
over graft.
And for Mr Cheeye, being put in the dock is a reversal of roles, considering
that he was the editor of the Uganda Confidential, a defunct paper that in the
early 90s was famed for exposing corruption. He also exposed the scam in the
Nsimbe housing project, which led to its abandonment and overhaul of NSSF
management.
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