Nine Parliament Staff Remanded on Corruption and Money Laundering Charges

Nine employees of Parliament have been arraigned before the Anti-Corruption Court in Wandegeya and remanded to Luzira Prison until July 7, 2026, after appearing before Chief Magistrate Esther Asiimwe.

The accused include Chris Ariko Obore, Head of Communications at Parliament; Adilo Daniel, Head of Human Resources; Leonard Okema, Special Assistant in the Speaker’s Office; Rajab Kaaya Ssemalulu, Head of Research; Stella Itute, a parliamentary assistant; Vicent Otebata; Richard Onena; Emmanuel Okwi; and another parliamentary staff member.

The suspects were brought to court in a minibus during the afternoon and held in the court cells before appearing before the magistrate.

They face three charges: abuse of office and corruption, causing financial loss to the government through the alleged theft of public funds, and money laundering.

Chief Magistrate Esther Asiimwe did not allow the accused to enter pleas, explaining that the money laundering charge is a capital offence that can only be tried by the High Court.

According to the prosecution, the accused are individually linked to the alleged theft of large sums of money. Chris Ariko Obore is accused of misappropriating more than UGX 5 billion, Adilo Daniel more than UGX 14 billion, Rajab Kaaya UGX 3 billion, Stella Itute UGX 2 billion, and Vicent Otebata UGX 5 billion.

Seven of the accused also face a joint charge of laundering more than UGX 10 billion, allegedly diverted from the Parliamentary SACCO. It is this charge that prevented the Anti-Corruption Court from taking their pleas.

Some of the suspects are further accused of withdrawing public funds for specific government purposes but allegedly diverting the money for personal use instead.

The alleged offences are said to have been committed between 2023 and 2026.

The prosecution team, led by Daisy Acio, Jason Arinda, Pius Kawesi, and Rafael Kababi Papali, informed the court that investigations are still ongoing and requested an adjournment to allow inquiries to continue.

Defence lawyers asked the court for a short adjournment to enable them to apply for bail before the High Court.

The magistrate adjourned the case to July 7, 2026, and remanded all the accused to Luzira Prison.

The arrests followed investigations by the Inspector General of Government (IGG), which allegedly uncovered the mismanagement of more than UGX 70 billion. Investigators claim that some of the funds were channelled through the suspects’ personal bank accounts and that they exploited their positions as parliamentary employees to divert public funds.

By Nickson Bbale
Parliament