Court orders arrest of ex-UNBS boss

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The Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala has issued an arrest warrant against embattled former Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) boss David Livingstone Ebiru for failing to turn up in court on Tuesday to answer corruption-related charges.

The arrest warrant has been signed by Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro, instructing authorities to produce him in court on August 31, 2023.

Ebiru was relieved of his role by the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, Mr. Francis Mwebesa, after he admitted before parliament’s committee on public accounts—Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE)—that he paid a bribe of Shs100 million to the Bureau board members in exchange for protection. It is alleged that Ebiru was on the verge of losing his job due to a lack of qualifications.

Additionally, the prosecution alleges that between October 2022 and December 2022, Ebiru corruptly offered a gratification of 100 million shillings to Charles Masekuura, the chairperson of the UNBS board, as an inducement to secure his job as the executive director of UNBS, where he was employed.

Ebiru is accused of masterminding an expenditure of Shs12.5 billion without approval from the Ministry of Finance and Parliament following the Auditor General’s report for the financial year 2021–2022.

In conclusion, Ebiru’s suspension from office was contained in a letter dated July 20, 2023, by the minister asking him to step aside from office with immediate effect to enable investigations into the alleged misappropriation of funds, misconduct, and abuse of office.

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