Woman accused of laundering Shs 9bn granted bail because she is a ‘single mother’

Court has granted bail to Doreen Nabiimara, a resident of Najjera on the outskirts of Kampala, who was accused of helping launder Shs 9 billion through land deals.

Justice Michael Elubu of the Anti-Corruption Court said Nabiimara qualified for release pending her trial on a charge of money laundering, even though he found weaknesses in two of the three sureties she had presented to court.

He said that if those weaknesses were fixed, there would be no compelling reason to keep her in custody.

Nabiimara was arrested on August 14, 2025, and later charged, alongside six other people, with money laundering. She had been on remand since her arrest and applied for bail through a notice of motion and two supporting affidavits.

Justice Elubu said the paramount question in any bail application was whether the accused was likely to return for trial, and whether she would behave in a way that did not interfere with witnesses or investigations.

On whether Nabiimara had a fixed place to live, the court accepted a letter from the LC1 chairman of Najjera A, in Kira Town Council, confirming that she resided there with her two children. Justice Elubu ruled that she had a fixed place of abode and could be traced if required.

He turned next to her sureties. Nabiimara had named three sureties: her maternal uncle Henry Ngabirano Agyenda of Lubowa Estate, her sister Ronah Nabiimanya of Kyengera, and another sister, Clare Nabasa, of Najjera A.

The state, through the investigating officer, Mariam Mutesi, told court that it had verified all three and found that Nabasa did not actually live at the Najjera A address she had given. The LC1 chairman there had written to court disowning her as a resident.

Justice Elubu agreed with the state on this point and declared her unsuitable as a surety. He also found the second surety, Ronah Nabiimanya, unsuitable, because there was no evidence showing she had the financial means to meet the terms of the bond if called upon.

Only the third surety, Henry Ngabirano, met all the requirements and was found substantial.

Despite losing two of her three sureties, Nabiimara still won her application because Justice Elubu said the deciding factor was her role as a parent.

He noted that she had two children, aged ten and twelve, and that with her husband said to be on the run, she was effectively the sole primary caregiver left to look after them.

He said this consideration, together with her presumption of innocence and her fixed place of residence, outweighed the gaps in her sureties.

The state had opposed Nabiimara’s release, arguing that she was not a stranger to her co-accused as she claimed, and that she had in fact been involved in helping to dispose of proceeds of crime linked to her husband and a co-accused named Peter Lubwama.

Police said Lubwama had made a statement implicating both himself and Nabiimara in disposing of money amounting to Shs 9 billion, some of which police said was used to acquire land in Ssezibwa registered in her husband’s name.

The state maintained there were no exceptional circumstances to justify her release and asked court to dismiss her application.

Nabiimara denied any involvement in the alleged scheme. She told the court her arrest was a case of mistaken identity, since she was not a property broker and did not deal in property. She said her co-accused were strangers to her.

Justice Elubu noted that the law did not require an applicant to prove exceptional circumstances before being granted bail. He said the absence of exceptional circumstances in Nabiimara’s case should therefore not count against her.

Having weighed all these factors, he ruled that Nabiimara qualified for bail, subject to producing two more sureties who met the court’s criteria.