By Ruth Anderah
The Court of Appeal has granted bail to the three jailed ministry of Public Service officials including former permanent Secretary Jimmy Lwamafa, principal accountant Christopher Obey and Director Pensions and compensations Stephen Kiwanuka Kunsa.
The Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma has ordered that the sum of 50 million shillings deposited by each convict before the Anti-corruption court for granting of bail be retained to act as a cash bail in this court.
The judge also ordered the three convicts to deposit their passports in court and to report before the Deputy Registrar of this court every last working day of the month starting from 31st/July 2017.
Lwamafa specifically has been ordered to deposit his Land tittle for his home on plot 13, Yusuf Lule road in Nakasero, Kampala.
However Lwamafa, Obey and Kunsa are not going home since they still have another pending case before the Anti-corruption court in which they have never secured bail.
In his bail ruling read to court by Assistant Registrar Didas Muhumuza, Justice Kavuma observed that there might be a delay in the hearing of the convicts’ appeal.
Justice Kavuma granted them bail on grounds that they were not convicted of offenses involving personal violence nor those attracting the death penalty.
Other reasons for their bail include the fact that they have fixed places of residence and have presented substantial sureties and other aggravating factors of old age and ill-health.
The sureties have been ordered to execute a non-cash bail of 40 million and ten million shillings.
The three were jailed for seven, ten, and five years respectively at Luzira prison after the Anticorruption court judge Lawrence Gidudu found them guilty of stealing 88 billion shillings which they falsely accounted for as NSSF contributions for public servants.
They were also ordered to make good of this loss by paying back 50 billion shillings to govt.
