The Supreme Court has announced that it will deliver its judgement on notice in a case where jailed former principal Accountant in the OPM Geoffrey Kazinda seeks to leave prison following a Constitutional Court order that ruled that his multiple jail terms are illegal.
Kazinda has been in prison since 2012 serving jail sentences ranging from 5 to 40 years on various corruption related charges .
However, in 2014 , Kazinda while representing himself petitioned the Constitutional Court stating that the Director of Public Prosecutions split the cases and initiated various charges basing on similar facts for which he had previously been convicted .
The court then agreed with Kazinda that all his criminal trials following his initial convictions were illegal .
In July 2020, the Constitutional Court ordered the Anti-corruption court to discharge Kazinda and be let free since he already served his conviction and sentence of five years which was handed to him on June 26, 2013 by Justice David Wangututsi for syndicate embezzlement and forging the signature of by then permanent secretary Pius Bigirimana.
However Kazinda is still held in prison, four years after the Constitutional court ruling because the Attorney General is opposing his release before the Supreme Court saying he committed serious offences for which he should be punished .
On Thursday, Kazinda's lawyer, George Musisi appeared a seven member panel of the Supreme Court chaired by the chief justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo and made his case.
Consequently, the court directed that each party should file written submissions on which it will to give its judgement on notice.
Kazinda was convicted on a series of offences including abuse of office, forgery, embezzlement, illicit- enrichment, causing financial loss and is serving various sentences handed down by the Anti-corruption court.
The offences were committed while he served as the principal Accountant in the Office of the Prime Minister.
