Seven senior Parliament officials, including Director of Communications and Public Affairs Chris Obore, have been committed to the High Court to face corruption-related charges.
The officials, who are currently on remand at Luzira Prison, were committed on Monday by Grade One Magistrate Esther Asiimwe following the presentation of an indictment containing additional charges arising from new evidence.
Those committed to the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court are Obore; Director of Human Resource Daniel Adilo; Principal Research Officer Rajab Kaaya Ssemalulu; Principal Protocol Officer Emmanuel Emuron Okwi; Capacity Development Officer Vincent Otebata; and Executive Secretary in the Office of the Speaker Leonard Okema.
Also committed is Methods Murebe, the chief executive officer of Uganda Parliamentary Cooperative Savings and Credit Society Ltd (Parliament SACCO).
However, Stella Itute, an Office Supervisor in the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, was not included in the indictment because she is still at large.
The prosecution, led by the Inspectorate of Government, has introduced an additional charge of money laundering against Okwi, alongside the previously preferred charges of embezzlement and causing financial loss.
The same charges have also been preferred against his co-accused.
The development takes the case to the High Court because money laundering offences fall within the court’s jurisdiction.
Following the committal, court directed the prosecution and defence teams to appear before the Registrar of the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court on August 18, 2026, for the mention of the case.
Last week, the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court set September 9, 2026, to deliver a consolidated ruling on the bail applications filed by the seven officials.
The bail applications were affected by the introduction of the money laundering charges, which Magistrate Asiimwe had earlier said she could not entertain because they are triable exclusively by the High Court.
The magistrate’s decision paved the way for the officials’ case, including their bail applications, to be handled by the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court.
