President Museveni’s private secretary remanded for intimidating EC officials

Caroline-Kembabazi
Private secretary to President Yoweri Museveni, Caroline Kembabazi appearing at Buganda Road Court on Thursday 17, December 2020. Courtesy Photo

Kampala, Uganda | URN | Buganda Road Magistrates Court has remanded a private secretary to President Yoweri Museveni on charges of giving false information to officials of the Electoral Commission [EC].

Carolin Kembabazi, 31, a resident of Kireka in Kiira division of Wakiso district on Thursday 17th, December 2020 afternoon appeared before Grade One Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu who read to her the charges.

The prosecution alleges that Kembabazi used her position and lied to the Human Resource Officers at the Electoral Commission [EC] that President Museveni had assigned her to tell the officials to give jobs to three of her relatives to be deployed as Assistant District Registrars which was not true.

The three are; Kenneth Magezi, Duncan Muramuzi and Elia Abomeire.

According to the evidence before Court, the State contends that Kembabazi committed the said offence between November and December 2020 at the Electoral Commission [EC] headquarters in Kampala.

But the composed looking Kembabazi denied the charges and attempted to apply for bail but her application couldn’t be entertained due to limited time.

As a result, the State Attorney Elizabeth Nandala asked Court to adjourn the matter adding that inquiries are complete and therefore a hearing date should be set.

Accordingly, Kamasanyu remanded Kembabazi till January 6, 2021 when the hearing will commence.

According to reports from the State House Anti Corruption Unit which arrested Kembabazi, her troubles started when one of the senior staff in the Human Resource department at the Electoral Commission [EC] asked for their intervention saying that she had intimidated and pressurized them to give jobs to her relatives.

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It is alleged that Kembabazi verbally gave directives after she had personally stormed the offices and threatened to take action against the Human Resource Officers if they failed to abide by the instructions she had got from the fountain of honor.

As a result, detectives attached to Lt Col Edith Nakalema’s led State House Anti Corruption Unit went to EC offices from where they reportedly found Kembabazi grilling the Human Resource Officers.

She was immediately arrested and later released on police bond that day until her re-arrest on Thursday 17th morning when she had returned to comply with bond conditions.