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Uganda: Naava Nabagesera Convicted of Fraud
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New Vision (Kampala)
9 May 2008
Posted to the web 9 May 2008
Charles Ariko and Edward Anyoli
Kampala
NAAVA Nabagesera, the former presidential aide on legal affairs, was yesterday convicted and fined for obtaining money by false pretence.
She paid the sh1.4m fine and escaped being jailed for one year, which was the alternative punishment.
The court also ordered her to pay sh15.2m as compensation to the 12 victims who had paid her money after she promised to get them jobs abroad. She is supposed to refund them within three months.
Her co-accused, Moses Nsubuga Ssempebwa, who was employed as her research assistant was, however, acquitted.
The chief magistrate of Buganda Road Court, Margaret Tibulya, said the 35 witnesses convinced her that Naava, a lawyer-cum-politician, falsely obtained money from several people between 2004 and 2005.
Naava received the money after telling her victims that she would secure jobs for them in Europe and Asia.
One of the witnesses was High Court judge Ralph Ochan, the then Permanent Secretary of the gender and labour ministry.
Ochan's testimony that he did not empower Naava to recruit people for jobs meant that it was not a Government project, as she had claimed.
Naava privately paid for accommodation and also privately employed Nsubuga, the magistrate ruled.
The complainants, the magistrate went on, were from diverse backgrounds who could not have colluded to testify against her. The fees the complainants paid were not uniform and no receipts were issued for the payments.
While acquitting Nsubuga, the magistrate said he merely received instructions from Naava, the brain behind the plan.
"The accused abused the trust invested in a public office by taking advantage of unsuspecting members of the public. She is accordingly sentenced to pay a fine of sh100,000 on each count or serve one year's imprisonment."
Naava, who appeared worried at the start of the court session, smiled after Tibulya made her ruling.
Her lawyer John Matovu had earlier pleaded for an option of a fine instead of sending her to jail.
"The accused is a first offender. She has no criminal record and the offence for which she is charged is civil. It involves the exchange of money. I pray she is given the option of a fine," Matovu pleaded.
Immediately after the judgment, Naava was whisked to the cells by Prisons officials as Matovu rushed out to look for the money to pay the fine. By yesterday afternoon, she was still in the cells even after the fine had been paid. Visitors were blocked from seeing her.
Matovu said he would appeal against the judgment. "There was no evidence in convicting her. We will pay the fine now so that she does not go to prison but we will not compensate anyone until the appeal is heard."
Before her appointment as presidential assistant for legal affairs, Naava served as resident district commissioner in Bugiri, Jinja and Kayunga.
In 1997, Naava married Kampala mayor Nasser Sebaggala. The marriage was short-lived as she left Sebaggala when he was arrested and jailed in the US for bank fraud. She subsequently joined the NRM and got herself a job at State House.
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In 1998, Naava went into hiding after failing to pay the cost for her unsuccessful election petition against her rival, woman MP for Kampala Margaret Zziwa. Naava had contested against Zziwa in the 1996 parliamentary election and lost. President Museveni prevailed on Zziwa to give her time to settle the bill.
While working as a presidential aide, Naava purported that she had a programme to secure jobs abroad for Ugandans.
Following numerous complaints, she was charged on August 3, 2006 with obtaining money by false pretences. The trial lasted for two years.
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