Africa-Press – Uganda. A former state prosecutor at Nabweru Magistrates Court in Wakiso District has been sentenced to a fine of Shs7 million after he was convicted of corruption in regard to soliciting a bribe.
Magistrate Esther Asiimwe of the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala yesterday convicted Simon Kigwana on two charges of corruption in connection with soliciting Shs6 million for gratification and receiving Shs200,000 from litigants Zam Ndagire and Kasumba Octavious.
Magistrate Asiimwe ordered Kigwana to pay Shs3.5m for each of the two charges of corruption, failure of which could lead to imprisonment for one year.
“In cases of this nature, this damage to reputation extends to all the associated justice institutions, including the Judiciary and the police. In the end, corrupt actions by an official in one institution diminishes public confidence in the entire justice system and undermines the government’s general fight against corruption. As such, the convict must be punished to send a message to other serving officers to desist from corruption,” she ruled.
Ms Asiimwe further held that Mr Kigwana loses his job and the accrued benefits.
“In accordance with Section 46 of the Anti-Corruption Act, the convict is barred from holding public office for a period of 10 years with effect from October 13, 2023,” Ms Asiimwe ruled.
Court heard that while employed as state prosecutor at Nabweru court in Wakiso, Kigwana directly solicited for gratification of Shs6 million for himself from Ndagire and Kasumba.
The State told court that on May 15, 2019 at Nabweru Playground, Kigwana, in the capacity of the state prosecutor, also directly accepted a gratification of Shs200,000 for himself from Ndagire.
Court records showed that Ndagire and Kasumba were complainants in a case of threatening violence at Nabweru court, which was being handled by Kigwana.
Court heard that the accused person interacted with the two persons to solicit for and received the money.
Ms Asiimwe ruled that the convicted prosecutor was in touch with Ndagire and Kasumba regarding picking the money he had solicited, willingly entered into the trap that had been set by the complainants and the State House Anti-corruption Unit, received the envelope containing the money and was arrested red-handed.
“I find that the prosecution satisfactorily proved that the accused accepted the gratification in exchange for an act in performance of his public functions,” the court ruled.
Records show that on May 14, 2019, the State House Anti-Corruption Unit received information that a public official at Nabweru court was soliciting for a bribe.
On May 15, 2019, officers were accordingly deployed with a plan to trap him.
Kigwana had asked court for a lenient non-custodial sentence, reasoning that he is a father and sole breadwinner for his family of 11 dependents, including an elderly and sickly mother.
He further stated that he is a student recently admitted to a Bar Course and as such a non-custodial sentence would enable him to attend school and give him time to reflect.
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