Bob Kasango
Masaka High Court judge John Eudes Kaitirima has pinned a senior lawyer, Bob Kasango, for using a fake court order to procure 15 billion shillings for paying ghost pensioners. The judge had appeared before the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee chaired by Jinja East Member of Parliament Paul Mwiru defending himself against a court order authorizing 15.4 billion shillings to a ghost law firm, Hul and partners.
Judge Kaitirima proved to the committee that his signature on the alleged court order to pay this money was forged by Bob Kasango, saying that a third party would think that it was his signature, however it had a slight difference. He also tabled before the committee a sound recording of a secret meeting which was on request of Bob Kasango. He told the committee that after examining the request and found it fake, he reported the matter to police in Kibuli but was shocked to see that no action was taken against Bob Kasango. The judge said that Kasango should have been jailed long ago because there was much evidence pinning him.
In the same committee the Registrar in the Judiciary, Joshua Kisawuzi, refuted claims that he certified the payment of 15.4 billion shillings to this ghost firm, adding that this was a classic fraudulent transaction because at one face it appeared to be genuine yet it was fake.
However , the committee through the Acting Solicitor General Christopher Gasirabagye and a commission from the justice ministry Denis Bireije, noted that the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Kahinda Otafire’s letter to the Ministry of Public Service directing them to pay this ghost law firm 15.4 billion shillings was irregular but not illegal. Gasirabagye and Bireije said that this letter was supposed to be originating from the Attorney General because this case was legal in nature.
The Members of Parliament on the committee who include Paul Mwiru, Joseph Sewungu ,Jacob Opolot and Gerald Karuhanga agreed to write to the Attorney General’s office to recover this money from Lawyer Bob Kasango.