By Babirye Sania
Anti corruption Judge Lawrence Gidudu has convicted the former Principle Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister, Geoffrey Kazinda and 3 others of fraud and causing government a 316 billion loss in fueling non existence vehicles under the office of the prime minister in 2010.
Kazinda has been found guilty alongside the service stations manager Total Ntinda Katumwa Hussein, Beatrice Kezabu the former clerk in the OPM office and Shamim Madembe who owns the petrol station.
These were facing 5counts including Conspiracy to defraud, Embezzlement, fraudulent false accounting, forgery and uttering false documents.
Justice Gidudu found Beatrice Kezabu guilty of forgery and false accounting together with her co accused.
The judge has however expressed dismay to why commissioner Martin Owol who was Kezabu's boss despite admitting of having erred was never charged but instead brought in as a prosecution witnesses.
According to Prosecution the money in question was meant to buy 5,000 liters of fuel for vehicles transporting relief food to disaster victims, in various districts, in 2010 but that Kazinda and Kezaabu allegedly made false entries claiming that Total Ntinda Service Station had supplied fuel to the Prime Minister's Office whereas not.
In June/2013 Kazinda was first convicted by the same court of forging then Permanent Secretary Pius Bigirimana's signature and sentenced to 5years which he completed in November 2016 but is still in Luzira prison because of these pending cases.