Kabale State Attorney arrested over bribery allegations

Kabale, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Edwin Mbabazi, the Kabale Resident State Attorney is in trouble for allegedly receiving a bribe of Shillings 125,000. He was arrested on Thursday by a team of detectives from the Inspectorate of Government, following a complaint by a whistleblower from Kyanamira sub-county, Kabale district.

Sam Agaba, the Kigezi regional inspectorate officer, says that he received a complaint from a resident who alleged that he was dragged to Kyanamira police station last month for criminal trespass. He was picked up and transferred to Kabale Central Police station where he was released on police bond on September 30, 2022.

According to Agaba, the whistleblower told them that when he reported back to the police station, he was informed that his case file had been forwarded to the  Resident State Attorney for perusal. He reportedly explained that on checking with the State Attorney’s office, they advised him to return home and relax saying they would contact him on phone.

He claimed that Mbabazi contacted him (the whistleblower) on Monday this week and demanded a bribe of 500,000 Shillings to close the file. As a result, the whistle-blower contacted the Inspectorate of Government, which commenced efforts to trap Mbabazi. On Tuesday, the suspect received a partial payment of Shillings 125,000 as part of the bribe to begin the process of closing the file.

According to Agaba, they immediately summoned Mbabazi to the Inspectorate shortly after receiving the bribe to record a statement but he remained adamant.

Agaba says the suspect has been transferred to Kampala to appear before the Anti-Corruption court. He says that his office receives between 10-25 complaints about government officials accused of bribery.

Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) through its spokesperson, Jacqueline Okui has also released a statement confirming Mbabazi’s arrest and condemned his actions. The statement indicates that DPP does not condone any acts of corruption, adding that the office will allow due process to take its course and await the outcome of the investigations.

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