By Spy Uganda
Okello is an accomplice of City lawyer David Balondemu, James Mugisha, Godfrey Maviri and Edgar Karakire who conspired to defraud USD 600,000 (UGX2.2B) from a Korean investor in a fake gold scam. He together with the earlier charged persons have been further remanded to Luzira government Prison until 6th November 2023.
According to prosecution, the group between the months of March and November 2021 at the offices of M/s Balondemu & Co Advocates along Parliamentary Avenue in the Kampala City received the monies by falsely pretending that they were selling 53kilograms of gold to Hyun Uk Kim whereas it was not true.
The group is also accused of conspiring to commit a felony contrary to section 390 of the Penal Code Act when they obtained $600,000 from the Korean national by false pretense.
Balondemu is said to have used his legal expertise to create an elaborate scheme which convinced the Korean national to release the money.
When presented before City Hall grade one magistrate, Edgar Karakire, Balondemu denied the charges.
The state prosecutor, Mercy Yamangusho, however told court that investigations into the case are still ongoing.
The lawyer asked court to release him on bail after citing his bad health but the magistrate insisted that the bail would be determined on November, 6, 2023.
State House Anti Corruption Unit kicked off a hunt for the accused group following a complaint by the Korean national to the president that he had lost huge sums of money to crooks in Kampala.
The Workaholic State House Anti Corruption Unit
The State House Anti Corruption Unit (SH-ACU) in one year, 2022, managed to recover Ugx35.484bn from corruption masters of this country, the annual report revealed.
The Unit also managed to arrest and arraign in court over 448 suspects. Among these, courts convicted 70 culprits including government accounting Officers, Executive Officers, managing directors, Secretaries of Commission, CAOs, and Town Clerks.
SH-ACU was established under Article 99(4) of the constitution of Uganda, which gives the President executive powers to either directly or indirectly perform his duties or through officers subordinate to him.
Launched on 10th December 2018, SH-ACU coordinates with all constitutionally mandated agencies to ensure a corruption-free country.
The Unit also acts as a link between H.E. the President, citizens, and Anti- Corruption agencies in relation to Anti-Corruption issues.
