Ugandan diplomat Herbert Kiguli, who serves as the country’s Consul General in Mombasa, has been arrested and remanded in prison over allegations of causing a financial loss of about Ksh15.9 million to the Ugandan government.
Kiguli was arrested by Uganda’s Inspectorate of Government and later appeared before the Anti-Corruption Court Principal Magistrate Christopher Opit.
The 59-year-old denied the allegations against him.
The court remanded him to Luzira Prison until October 7, when he is expected to return for the hearing of his bail application.
Inspectorate of Government in Uganda stated that Kiguli was charged with UGX494 million loss, which is worth approximately Ksh15.9 million, and abuse of office.
“His Excellency Ambassador Kiguli Herbert has been remanded for alleged financial loss of UGX 494 million to the Government of Uganda and abuse of office until October 7, 2026,” Inspectorate said.
The charges against him are based on events that took place on November 9 and 10, 2020, where he was the Commissioner for Human Resource Management in the Ministry of Agriculture of Uganda.
This is because he signed five requisitions on behalf of the Principal of Bukalasa Agricultural College.
The requisitions were worth UGX614.768 million, equivalent to about Ksh19 million.
According to the investigators, the deals led to a monetary loss of UGX494.097 million, which is roughly Ksh15.9 million, to the Ugandan government.
Inspectorate of Government stated that the money had not been budgeted for or anticipated by Bukalasa Agricultural College.
Further, it is alleged that the two parties did not have any valid Memorandum of Understanding regarding their monetary transactions.
The money was supposed to facilitate different activities of the Agriculture Ministry that could not take place due to the restrictions implemented due to coronavirus pandemic.
According to Inspectorate of Government, the case was a part of its strategy to safeguard public funds and asked the government officials to adhere to financial regulations while fulfilling their official duties.
Kiguli was posted in Kenya as Uganda’s Consul General to Mombasa in October 2024. He is serving as a diplomat for nearly two years.