Museveni Pardons Former Permanent Secretary John Kashaka After Five Years in Prison

President Yoweri Museveni has granted a pardon to John Muhanguzi Kashaka, the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, who was serving a 10 year prison sentence for causing financial loss of UGX 4.2 billion. The pardon, issued on Wednesday, October 4, 2024, came after Kashaka had served 5 years, 2 months, and 9 days in prison.

The Uganda Prisons Service, through Assistant Spokesperson Moses Ssentalo, confirmed the news in a statement released on Thursday, October 3, 2024. Ssentalo noted that the President had also granted a posthumous pardon to Henry Bamutura, who was convicted alongside Kashaka in 2014 by the Anti-Corruption Court. Both had been sentenced to 10 years and 10 days in prison for their role in a fraudulent deal involving the procurement of 70,000 bicycles meant for Local Council chairpersons in the 2011 general elections. The bicycles were never delivered.

Kashaka’s conviction dates back to 2014, when Justice Catherine Bamugemereire found him and several others guilty of contracting a sham company, Ammam Industrial Tools and Equipment Limited, to procure the bicycles from India. The deal led to a financial loss of UGX 4.2 billion. Other officials convicted alongside Kashaka included Henry Bamutura (former Principal Accountant), Robert Mwebaze (former Principal Procurement Officer), Sam Emorutu Erongot (former Assistant Commissioner for Policy and Planning), Timothy Musherure (former consultant), and Adam Alum (member of the evaluation committee). Mwebaze has since passed away.

In addition to their prison sentences, the convicted officials were barred from holding public office for 10 years and ordered to compensate the government for the lost funds. However, as of 2024, the bicycles have still not been delivered, more than a decade after the fraudulent contract.

Kashaka and his co-accused had repeatedly sought legal recourse to overturn their convictions. In October 2023, the Supreme Court upheld Kashaka’s 10 year sentence, affirming the decision of the lower courts. The Supreme Court panel, which included Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo and Justices Faith Mwondha, Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, Percy Night Tuhaise, and Mike Chibita, rejected Kashaka’s claims that the responsibility for the financial loss should lie with the Bank of Uganda. The justices ruled that Kashaka was accountable for the illegalities that occurred under his tenure.

Kashaka’s release follows the constitutional provision under Article 121 (1) (a) of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda, which allows the President to pardon convicted prisoners. This marks the end of a lengthy legal battle for the former Permanent Secretary, who had consistently maintained his innocence.

Bamutura, who passed away in January 2024, was also posthumously pardoned by the President. Bamutura had been convicted alongside Kashaka and sentenced to a similar term. The pardon for both men signals a final chapter in a case that has spanned over a decade and involved multiple appeals and rulings at various levels of Uganda’s judiciary.

The scandal surrounding the bicycle procurement was one of the most high profile corruption cases in Uganda’s recent history, raising serious concerns about accountability and governance within public institutions. The case underscored the need for stricter oversight in government procurement processes to prevent future losses of public funds.