KAMPALA, UGANDA: Interdicted Rubirizi district principal human resource officer Doreen Tusiime has been convicted by the Anti-corruption court after pleading guilty to embezzling over Shs 19 million of taxpayers’ money.
Tusiime who had prepared to defend herself during a special court session on Tuesday at Rubirizi Magistrate’s court immediately wilted and decided not to fight on the moment she saw a large number of state witnesses who had turned up to testify against her.
She caused the financial loss by deliberately paying excessive salaries to primary school teachers and then later asking them to refund the money to her. She also put her own sister, Mercy Mpeirwe as a ghost employee on the payroll of Rubirizi district.
Chief magistrate Joan Aciro ordered Tusiime to refund the Shs 19 million, banned her from occupying office for the next 10 years and also asked her to choose between two years in prison and a Shs 2 million fine.
Rodgers Kinobe the state prosecutor says that Tusiime chose to plead guilty after seeing a huge number of state witnesses appear in court ready to testify against her.
Fredrick Okech, the Mbarara regional inspector shortly after the conviction said that this will serve as a message to the public servants to stop corruption because they will be caught one day and pay for their misdeeds.
Tusiime was arrested from Rubirizi district alongside her former boss James Luyimba who was picked from Butembo district last year and accused of abuse of office, embezzling funds, and causing financial loss to the government.
Luyimbazi who was the then chief administrative officer of Rubirizi district between 2019 and 2020 is accused of conniving with Tusiime.
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