Kampala, (UG): Thursday, January 18, presented a moment of joy and happiness as former National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Managing Director, David Chandi Jamwa walked out of the cold gates of Luzira prison where he had been imprisoned since 2011.
Jamwa was sentenced to serve 12 years in Luzira prison after he was found guilty of causing NSSF a financial loss when he sold government bonds held by the fund before their maturity date to the defunct Crane Bank at a price below their value in 2007. From the sale, NSSF got Shs36billion instead of an expected Shs39billion from the bonds
His Luzira nightmare ended on Wednesday, January 17, when President Museveni pardoned him alongside 12 other inmates in an exercise of his prerogative of mercy powers given to him under the Constitution of Uganda to pardon the convicts majorly on health and humanitarian grounds.
Speaking to the media for the first time after his release on Thursday, Jamwa, clad in a dark blue T-shirt and tight blue jean trousers told journalists at Luzira prisons in Kampala.
“I’m very grateful to the president, Gen Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa for his magnanimity, benevolence, sympathy and mercy. I’m head over heels and ecstatic. We’ll continue thanking him and the establishment for ending my nightmare,” Jamwa said adding that the news about his pardon caught him by surprise.
“It came as a surprise but when we found out that the prerogative had been exercised, we could only be grateful. Prison life is difficult but also character-building, so there are two sides to that coin. It’s an experience that changes you for the better. I just thank God for keeping me alive. I also thank the prisons staff for doing the best in terms of looking after me.”
Jamwa’s Woes
In June 2010, the former NSSF boss was arrested at the Uganda-Kenya border over accusations of causing financial loss to the tune of Shs2.7 billion. He was charged before the Anti-Corruption Court and remanded to Luzira Prison.
In 2011, Jamwa petitioned the Court of Appeal challenging his 12-year jail sentence handed to him by the Anti-Corruption Court. He was later granted a Shs10m cash bail by the Court of Appeal, and Shs500 million non-cash.
On January 16, 2018, Jamwa lost his appeal against the jail sentence. Court ruled that the evidence on record was sufficient to prove that he acted arbitrarily when he authorised the sale of several NSSF bonds before their maturity dates.
The Court of Appeal also convicted Jamwa of abuse of office charges which the Anti-Corruption Court had dropped. He was given another four-year jail sentence which ran concurrently with his 12-year sentence.
Jamwa later applied for temporary release and in January 2021, court released him on bail and ordered him to deposit another Shs10m in court, pending hearing of his main application against the Court of Appeal decision to uphold his 12-year sentence.
The Supreme Court later cancelled his bail and reaffirmed the 12-year jail term.
In 2011, the then-head of the Anti-Corruption Court, Justice John Bosco Katutsi ordered that Jamwa be barred from public office for 10 years.
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