Former Parliament Director of Communications Chris Obore is out on bail, at least for now.
Court granted him Shs30 million cash bail on Wednesday, alongside six other former Parliament officials facing him in the dock. He was ordered to deposit his land title from Kiwanga, Mukono, together with his passport, and his sureties were bonded at Shs300 million non-cash. Court made it clear the property is on the line, any breach of bail conditions, and it gets forfeited.
The rest of the accused didn’t walk away with the same terms. Mureebe Muhanuka, Rajab Kaaya Ssemalulu, and Emmanuel Okwi each got Shs20 million cash bail. Daniel Adiro and Leonard Okema got Shs35 million a piece. Vincent Tebata matched Obore at Shs30 million.
All seven are staring down nine charges tied to how parliamentary funds for donations, corporate social responsibility work, and stakeholder engagements were allegedly handled between 2023 and May 2026, among them causing financial loss, embezzlement, and money laundering.
The numbers involved are eye-watering. Prosecutors say Obore alone received Shs5.2531 billion for donations and CSR work that either never happened or was never accounted for. A separate charge accuses him of receiving Shs2.578 billion for similar activities and knowingly filing false accountabilities for it.
He’s not alone in facing big figures. Adiro allegedly pocketed Shs14.11075 billion, Okema Shs3.8 billion, Ssemalulu Shs1.870108 billion, and Emuron Shs1.105 billion, all supposedly for activities that were never carried out or accounted for.
Tebata’s charge sheet has its own line item, Shs502.534 million meant to cover fuel, subsistence, and transport refunds for a stakeholder engagement in the central region. Prosecution says that engagement never took place, and the money was never returned.
Add it all up, and the Inspector General of Government puts the total at Shs26.805892 billion allegedly received by the seven for donations, CSR programmes, and stakeholder engagements, none of it, prosecutors claim, properly implemented or accounted for. That, they argue, is the size of the loss the government took on.
The accused have all pleaded not guilty. The case continues.
