BREAKING! DPP Discontinues Corruption Charges Against MPs, Mutembuli, Akamba, Namujju

The Office of the Director for Public Prosecution has today, Tuesday 6th January written to the Deputy Registrar Anti-Corruption Court notifying him of the discontinuation of the criminal proceedings in criminal case AC-CO-0078-2024 against three accused MPs namely Yusuf Mutembuli, the Member of Parliament for Bunyole East, Paul Akamba of Busiki East constituency, and Cissy Namujju, the Lwengo woman MP.

The trio was arrested in 2024 on alleged corruption charges and arraigned before the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala.

They were accused of attempting to solicit 20% of the budget for the Uganda Human rights Commission.

In August 2024, the chairperson Uganda Human rights Commission, Mariam Wangadya told court that Mutembuli had argued that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) give MPs a 5% budget cut before their budgets are passed. This was amidst pleas to have the commission’s budget increased.

The prosecution alleged that while at Hotel Africana on 13th May 2024, the trio solicited a bribe from Wangadya to enhance the commission’s 2024/2025 budget. They pleaded not guilty and were subsequently remanded to Luzira prison.

Their arrest followed President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s revealing that there was a racket of people in the ministry of finance and parliament taking bribes to approve budgets of government agencies.

The letter seen by this publication was signed by J. Muwaganya, the head of investment crimes prosecution on behalf of the DPP.