Kerry Howard Mwesigwa.
Kampala, Uganda – The Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala has issued an extension to the arrest warrant for David Livingstone Ebiru, the former Executive Director of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS). This extension, granted by Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro, authorizes the police to apprehend Ebiru immediately upon sighting him to face bribery charges. This decision comes after Ebiru failed to appear in court for the second time in connection with these allegations.
The Prosecution alleges that between October and December 2022, Ebiru offered a gratification of 100 million Shillings to Charles Masekuura, the Chairperson of the UNBS board, with the intent of securing his position as the Executive Director of UNBS.
Despite the initial arrest warrant issued on August 8, 2023, Ebiru remains elusive and in hiding, according to Rogers Kinobe, the State Attorney from the Inspectorate of Government’s office. Ebiru’s legal team filed three applications challenging the criminal proceedings against their client on August 11, 2023, but these applications have not yet been scheduled for a hearing. Ebiru’s lawyer, Silas Mugabi Kahima, has also sought to have the applications reallocated to another judge due to the current absence of the presiding judge, Lady Justice Margaret Tibulya, who is on leave.
Furthermore, Ebiru’s legal team filed an application for the revision of the decision to issue the arrest warrant. However, this application is pending the lower court’s record before being served to the Prosecution. Mugabi has requested the court to suspend the trial until decisions on these pending applications are reached. Nevertheless, the Prosecution has countered this request, asserting that Ebiru should take a plea before challenging the prosecution.
In response, Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro concurred with the Prosecution, resulting in the extension of the arrest warrant against David Livingstone Ebiru until September 28, 2023.
