Business3 years ago
Former Uganda Red Cross Chief sentenced To Seven Years In Prison For Embezzlement
By Gad Masereka Richard Michael Nataka, the former secretary general of the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS), was sentenced to 7 years in prison by a Kampala anti-corruption court for embezzling more than Shs 1 billion. Nataka was found guilty on four counts of embezzlement, inflicting financial loss, abuse of office, and conspiracy to defraud by a court presided over by grade one magistrate Moses Nabende. Between February 1, 2013 and September 30, 2013, he embezzled more than Shs 1.2 billion from URCS in Kampala, when he illegally approved and paid Buki Enterprises Limited for construction work at the African Youth Leadership and Training Centre (Namakwa). For the execution of the stated works, Nataka signed duplicate contracts in favor of Buki Enterprise, Jensani Construction, and Saki Technical Services Limited. Nataka, who was previously on trial with two others, Geoffrey Serunjogi and Geoffrey Weponde, the Uganda Red Cross Society’s deputy director for finance, was found guilty based on evidence from seven prosecution witnesses, while his co-accused were acquitted due to a lack of sufficient evidence to pin them. “The prison sentences will not be cumulative. The accused is also ordered to pay Uganda Red Cross Society 1,236, 917,932 shillings in compensation “Nabende remarked. Nataka has also been forbidden from holding public office for a ten-year period, as stipulated by the Anti-Corruption Act. The warrant of commitment from Nabende to the Superintendent of Prisons Murchison Bay Prison reads, “This is to authorize and require you, the said superintendent, to receive the said Nataka Richard Michael into your custody in the said prison together with the warrant and there carry out the aforementioned sentence into execution according to law.”
