By Our Reporter
NATIONAL
President Museveni has in exercise of the powers given to the president of Uganda by the constitution pardoned former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Jimmy Lwamafa who has been serving a seven year jail term over the pension scam.
Uganda Prisons spokesperson, Frank Baine on Monday, 28th August 2023 said Lwamafa was among the 200 beneficiaries of the presidential pardon that was submitted to the President by the prerogative of mercy committee.
Lwamafa got his freedom in an Instrument of Pardon dated 20th August, 2023 which was signed by President Museveni invoking Article 121 (1) (a) of the constitution of Uganda 1995 as amended and on advise of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy.
“He falls among three categories of those pardoned. He is among the elderly and has not been so well but most importantly, he had also put his life to work for this country for many years and on humanitarian grounds he qualified for pardon,” Baine said.
Lwamafa was sentenced together with Christopher Obey, the former Principal Accountant in the Pensions Department, Stephen Kiwanuka Kunsa, the former Director Research and Development and city lawyer Bob Kasango who had earlier been convicted of a number of charges ranging from conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to commit a felony and forgery of judicial documents by the Anti Corruption Court.
He was also asked to refund some of the money.
Lwamafa is lucky to be coming out of Luzira alive because his much younger colleagues, Christopher Obey and Bob Kasango died in prison.
Other prisoners
According to the prisons spokesperson, the president also pardoned 199 other prisoners who were part of the group of 1800 names sent by prisons to the prerogative of mercy committee for pardon.
Baine said the list of 1800 submitted in June had petty offenders who have finished more than 50% of their service, all those on death row and have concluded their appeal process, the elderly, convicts who have finished more than three quarters of their sentence, suckling mothers and pregnant women who are petty offenders and have finished more than a quarter of their sentence.
“Those whose names were submitted also include the terminally ill and all capital offenders who are remaining with six months to their sentences,” Baine noted.
He welcomed the pardon that he said will help decongest the prisons facilities.
