Byandala co-accused in Kyetume –Katosi road saga wants court to stop proceedings against him

Apollo Kalyesubula Ssenkeeto, a city businessman accused together with former Works minister Abraham Byandala in the Shs24 billion Kyetume-Katosi road saga has notified the Anti -corruption court that he seeks to file an application in the Constitutional Court to have his prosecution stopped.

The seven accused people on Tuesday started their defence before Justice Lawrence Gidudu, of the Anti-Corruption Court in the botched Mukono-Katosi road project where government lost a whooping sum of Shs24.7 billion.

Through his lawyer Peter Mulira, Ssenkeeto told court that he seeks interpretation by the Constitutional court into the powers by the Inspector General of Government to institute charges against him despite not being a public servant.

“I want court to determine whether my client’s indictment by the IGG is in accordance to the Constitution because he is not subject to the IGG Act,” Muliira said.

The lawyer explained that it is only the Director of Public Prosecutions who can institute charges against his client but noted that this provision of the law was flouted by the IGG by going on to charge him.

“The Constitution says it is only the DPP to file criminal matters but the IGG went ahead to continue with the same despite being advised by the former that there was no evidence to support the charges.”

Mulira explained that through the Constitutional Court, charges against his client would be dropped and be let free because the process was done illegally.

Prosecution states that the then Minister for Works Abraham Byandala abused his office when he ordered for the signing of the contract between UNRA and Eutaw without doing due diligence on the latter which led government to lose a huge sum of money in form of advance payment to the company despite absence of any work done on the Kyetume- Katosi road.

Apollo Ssenkeeto is on the other side accused of purporting as the country representative of Eutaw, a US based construction company yet it was non- existent and authored forged security bonds that he later handed to UNRA as security fleecing government of huge sums of money.