news 15 June 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Former Trade PS Geraldine Ssali's Shs3.6 Billion Fraud Case Set for Trial
The Anti-Corruption Court has scheduled a mention for the Shs3.6 billion fraud case involving former Permanent Secretary Geraldine Ssali and five others. The proceedings were previously stalled by a Constitutional Court challenge. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/shs3-6b-fraud-case-against-former-trade-ps-geraldine-ssali-set-for-trial-5497500
The High Court’s Anti-Corruption Division has set June 17, 2026, as the date for the mention of a significant fraud case involving Geraldine Ssali, the former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives. Ssali, along with five co-accused, faces charges of causing financial loss and conspiring to defraud the government of billions of shillings.
The case is slated to be heard by Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga. This development follows a crucial ruling by the Constitutional Court that removed a legal hurdle which had been delaying the prosecution. The Constitutional Court struck down a provision of the Human Rights Enforcement Act that allowed for the termination of criminal proceedings if violations of non-derogable rights were proven, stating that acquittals can only occur after a full trial.
This ruling effectively clears the path for the corruption and money laundering case to proceed. The accused also include MPs Michael Mawanda Maranga and Ignatius Wamakuyu Mudimi, former MP Paul Akamba, lawyer Julius Taitankoko Kirya, and cooperative officer Leonard Kavundira.
Prosecutors allege that Ssali abused her office by improperly including Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society Limited in a compensation list, despite it not being in the approved supplementary budget. She is also accused of authorizing a Shs3.8 billion payment to Kirya and Company Advocates, contrary to Treasury instructions. The group is collectively accused of conspiring to defraud the government of over Shs3.4 billion intended for compensating cooperatives affected by past conflicts.
The case has experienced numerous adjournments, attributed in part to the aforementioned Constitutional Court proceedings and the unavailability of state prosecutors. The upcoming mention on June 17 is expected to set the stage for the trial, with dates for the substantive hearing likely to be determined then.