The High Court – Anti Corruption Division on Friday banned the former Chief Executive Officer of Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (LGRB) Agaba Edgar Gerald from holding any public office for 10 years due to corruption.
Mr Agaba was convicted of abuse of the office, causing financial loss, and embezzlement.
In her ruling, Lady Justice Margret Tibulya sentenced Mr Agaba to a fine of Shs100,000 or to serve a 3 years imprisonment sentence concurrently in respect of each of the counts and also banned him from holding any public office for 10 years.
According to Chief State Attorneys Abigail Agaba and Emily Mutuzo from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Agaba forwarded for payment to the Accounting Officer Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development, internal memos for payment of Shs 470,696,100 and Shs 480,040,520 respectively to Imperial Royale Hotel for two workshops purporting each to have been held for 4 days.
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However, each of the workshops had taken place for one day but the hotel received payment for 4 days for each workshop.
In addition, he also forwarded to the Accounting Officer a memo, budget and lists of names of persons requesting for facilitation for sensitization workshops to be conducted in Kampala Metropolitan areas between August and October 2018.
The budget included Shs24,000,000 for each hall to be used for the sensitizations. But he together with his colleagues knowingly included persons for payment who were not employees of the LGRB, and were not going to conduct the activity. The sensitizations were conducted for one day each and at the Division Council Hall at no cost.
In another count, Mr Agaba received payments to attend an activity in Mpigi for 4 days yet the activity was only for half day. He also received facilitation for an activity in Gaborone which he did not attend yet he received funds to pay for the Gaming Regulatory Forum (GRAF). He never attended the said activities, never paid the fees, and never refunded the said money over a period of three quarters until investigations commenced.
When investigations commenced, Imperial Royale refunded a total of Shs 604,309,000 to the Government of Uganda for three days per workshop and Agaba was found guilty on all counts.
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