The Former Soroti University Secretary, Ruth Achimo Etibot, has been acquitted after facing serious corruption charges.

It should be noted that last year, the Anti-Corruption Court sentenced Achimo to five years in prison for embezzling over Shs 1 billion of university funds.

Presided over by Lady Justice Margaret Tibulya, the court initially found Achimo guilty of abuse of office, two counts of misappropriation of public funds, one count of fraudulent accounting, and one count of false accounting as a public official.

Achimo, who also served as the university’s accounting officer, was charged alongside the university bursar, Edward Obeele. Obeele, however, admitted guilt through a plea bargain and received a fine, while the prosecution, led by James Khaukha, pursued the case against Achimo through a full trial.

The prosecution successfully argued that Achimo, in her role as university secretary/accounting officer, entered into a legal services agreement with Okurut & Company Advocates without following proper procurement procedures. Despite the law firm being pre-qualified for legal services, Achimo unlawfully disbursed Shs 1,025,265,000 to them for legal fees within just three months.

These funds were diverted from capital development, despite there being no budgetary allocation for legal services in the 2017/2018 financial year. Further evidence revealed that additional funds were diverted from capital development to cover staff allowances and other non-capital expenditures.As a result, the court found that Achimo's actions caused delays in payments for capital development projects, leading to penalties imposed by contractors due to missed payment deadlines.

Despite misappropriating these funds, Achimo falsely reported that all capital development funds were utilized for their intended projects.In addition to her acquittal, Achimo has been barred from holding any public office for the next decade.

This is a developing story; more details will follow.

Source credit : Teso News Network