Abuja, Nigeria | By Michael Wandati | Investigations have been launched into high-ranking officials at Uganda’s Embassy in Nigeria, including Ambassador Nelson Ocheger, over allegations of money laundering, sources reveal.
The probe, initiated under the directive of President Museveni, follows closely on the heels of reports that Uganda’s consulate in Dubai had been repurposed into a casino.
As part of the broader inquiry into potential criminal activities at the Embassy in Nigeria, the police have requested various files from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In a letter dated July 9, 2024, Jackson Tweheyo, the Deputy Director of CID’s Economic Fraud and Anti-corruption unit, formally requested Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Vincent Bagiire to submit the necessary documentation to support the ongoing investigation.
“The Directorate of Criminal Investigations in liaison with the State House Anti- Corruption Unit is conducting inquiries into alleged money laundering and embezzlement of funds at Uganda’s High Commission in Nigeria,” said Tweheyo.
“The allegations include: 1. Money laundering using government funds meant for construction of the embassy premises. 2. Embezzlement of about Ugx 300,000,000 (Shillings three hundred million), part of the supplementary funding to close a wage shortfall in FY 2022/2023,” the letter further reads.
Tweheyo has requested that Bagiire submit several key documents for review, including the budget and work plans for the Mission covering the fiscal years 2021/2022, 2022/2023, and 2023/2024. Additionally, he has called for the procurement files and payment records related to the construction of the Mission premises, all requests for funding related to this construction, and the financial releases and warrants issued to the Mission for the specified fiscal years.
The investigation also seeks bank statements from all Mission accounts dating from January 2022 to the present, payment instructions given by the High Commission to banks between November 2022 and June 2024, and the request and justification for supplementary funding submitted in January 2023.
Attempts to contact Bagiire were unsuccessful as he was reportedly engaged in a high-level meeting.
However, reliable sources have indicated that the investigation was prompted by allegations that upon receiving financial allocations from Kampala for the operation of the Embassy, Ugandan diplomats in Nigeria allegedly funneled the funds through a questionable private company’s bank account, potentially to earn interest from the transactions.
Black market deals
Documents reviewed by this investigative website reveal that on August 31, 2023, the Embassy’s accounting officer, Amb Alfred Namu, along with financial attaché Nicholas Kanamwangi, instructed Stanbic Bank Abuja to transfer an astounding $1 million (approximately Shs 3.7 billion) from the embassy account to Golden Edge Blocks Distribution Co Ltd. The stated purpose of the transfer was “to move project funds to a Naira project account.”
The listed beneficiary address was Plot 2249 Addis Ababa Crescent, Wuse, Zone 4, Abuja.
A quick online search shows that Golden Edge Blocks Distribution Co Ltd. was registered in Abuja in 2017, but the company has no discernible digital presence.
Officials said “that company (Golden Edge Blocks Distribution Co Ltd) has never rendered any service to our Mission in Abuja. It is not known to the Ugandan government. Therefore there is no justification for transferring money from the Embassy to that company’s account.”
“To simplify this issue for you, let’s use the example of Uganda. The dollar is now at Shs 3,700. So, if you exchange $1m, you get Shs 3.7bn. But if you have $1m, you can negotiate with forex dealers for a better rate of about Shs 3,750 for a dollar and get Shs 3,750,000,000. You would instantly make Shs 50m. That’s what the diplomats in Nigeria were reportedly doing,” an official further clarified.
A respectable diplomat who preferred anonymity to speak freely, said “The revelations were shocking. For diplomats to be reported in money laundering deals with faceless companies in Nigeria is really disturbing.”
Officials believe that these transactions likely occurred with the knowledge of Ambassador Nelson Ocheger.
Attempts to reach Ocheger on his known mobile phone were unsuccessful at the time of publishing this article.
However, it has come to light that as investigators began to tighten their focus on the Ugandan diplomats in Nigeria, Ocheger reportedly instructed Stanbic Bank Abuja to “withdraw the signatures of Mr Eriya Tusubira from the High Commission Accounts and to no longer recognise him as the accounting officer.”
In his letter dated August 31, 2024, Ocheger emphasised that “Mr Eriya Tusubira is no longer the accounting officer at the HIgh Commission and should not be recognised as such.”
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Detectives assert that the authority to revoke the powers of the accounting officer resides with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, not Ambassador Ocheger.
As the investigation progresses, detectives aim to determine whether the practice of money laundering has been ongoing for years at Uganda’s Embassy in Nigeria. Recently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed Ambassador Henry Mayega, Uganda’s Consul General in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), to return to Uganda to clarify how the consulate was allegedly converted into a casino.
Media reports have also surfaced that the External Security Organisation (ESO) is investigating how privately procured gambling machines, shipped under diplomatic cover between Russia and the Middle East, ended up being operated within Uganda’s Consulate building in Dubai, UAE.
It is alleged that Mayega concealed these casino machines on one of the floors of the Consulate. The machines were reportedly linked to Foreign Affairs Minister Gen Jeje Odongo, though he has strongly denied these claims.
