Ono Bwino can exclusively report that former Speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among’s private lawyers are desperately struggling to convince the Inspector General of Government (IGG) and other stakeholders to consolidated all the criminal files against their client so that she is charged at once.
Ono Bwino can authoritatively report that Among hired two prominent and connected law firms to handle her troubles and her first instructions to them was to lobby those concerned to allow her to receive specialised treatment abroad and save her from public humiliation of subjecting her to criminal prosecution.
Highly placed sources close to Among intimated to Ono Bwino that the said lawyers were very instrumental in lobbying for a meeting between President Museveni’s young brother and also his Senior Presidential Advisor on defence and security Gen Salim Saleh and a delegation from Teso which was led by their cultural leader Emorimor, Teso parliamentary group vice chairperson Emmanuel Omoding and other legislators including Margaret Etilu, Samuel Ediau, Constantine Okwii, and David Okweere Beecham.
Sources divulged that the lawyers are also lobbying for another meeting between Emorimor delegation and Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba the Chief of Defence Forces and his father President Museveni to plead for Among’s pardon and allow her to travel abroad to receive specialised treatment.
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Sources said that lawyers are also using these meetings to buy more time to negotiate with the IGG, the leading prosecutor on consolidating all the files against Among so that she is charged once.
Ono Bwino has established that detectives from police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Special Forces Command (SFC) and military’s Defence Intelligence and Security have paraded three different criminal files which they handed over to IGG to execute her mandate of prosecuting the highly potential corrupt former government official.
One of Among’s lawyers told to this reporter that the reason why they want Emorimor delegation to meet Gen Muhoozi is because being the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and also the Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations, he supervises the entire investigations against Among.
“We are very sure that his word carries a lot of weight on the IGG’s decision on consolidating the three files against the former speaker. We know she will be charged but our wish is for her to face one criminal file,” a senior criminal lawyer said.
Ono Bwino also established that one of the files against Among has charges related to illicit enrichment whereby she is accused of using a public office to accumulate wealth which she cannot explain or prove came from a legal source.
Sources said that Among explained to the President that part of the wealth which investigators are claiming that she accumulated illegally was gifted to her when she crossed from the opposition’s Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) to his National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Others were gifts from friends in Uganda and abroad especially in Italy and United Kingdom.
However, the President was not convinced with her explanation.
Another criminal file according to lawyers contains charges related to fraudulent recruitment of workers at parliament without following the required process.
Among is accused of ordering for recruitment of parliament staff without required documents in offices which already have public staff with running contracts.
She made government to pay salaries to two or three different individuals doing the same job yet Among only gave assignments to those she recruited leaving the others with running contract redundant.
This reporter understands that another file contains charges related to money laundering where Among is accused of participating in an illegal process of hiding the source of dirty money gained from crimes to make it look clean.
There are also allegations in the corridors of power that there is a plan for the State to engage Among henchmen and women including Chris Obore the embattled director of Communication and corporate affairs at parliament, Daniel Adilo the embattled director of human resources, Leonard Okema executive secretary in the Office of the Speaker, Rajab Kaaya Ssemalulu the principal research officer, Emmanuel Emuron Okwi the principal protocol officer, Vincent Otebata the capacity development officer, Methods Murebe the Uganda Parliamentary SACCO Chief Executive Officer and Stella Itute the Office Supervisor at parliament who were charged and remanded to Luzira prison on charges related to money laundering as State witnesses against Among.
Ono Bwino understands that the ongoing talks have delayed the summoning of Among at the IGG’s office to record statements so that she is arraigned before the Anti-Corruption Court.
This reporter has learnt that three judges of the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court were singled out who are set to handle Among’s criminal files even though the lawyers want their client to face one judge.
However, State is very careful on selecting the judges to handle Among cases because she has been untouchable in Court and veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda said that winning a case against her in Ugandan Courts was close to impossible.
Mwenda claimed that Among used her position as a speaker of parliament to influence the appointment of judicial officers, give juicy jobs to their girlfriends, boyfriends and other relatives at parliament.
Because of Among’s influence, judicial officers have been very ruthless when handling cases in which she has interests and a number of journalists, activists have been remanded to prison for several months until the speaker pardoned them.
“A magistrate told me that I can only engage speaker Among if I want my client to get bail. The reason was because of the news story implicating her in the corruption scandal he wrote. He spent months on remand,” one of the lawyers who represented a journalist told this reporter.
