Buganda Road Court Chief Magistrate James Eremye has ordered one of three people accused of forging Chief Justice Bart Katureebe’s signature to pay a fine of Shs19 million shillings after pleading guilty to fraud.
City businessman Saleh Luzinda has on Thursday afternoon pleaded guilty to having on April 16, 2015 obtained over Shs 437m from Mukesh Sukla, the Executive Director of Shumuk Group of Companies, falsely pretending to have been sent by the Chief Justice. He prayed to court to pardon him but Chief Magistrate Eremye instead slapped a Shs1 million fine on each one of his nine counts of obtaining money by false pretence, forgery and uttering false documents or an equivalent of three years’ imprisonment in Luzira.
His co accused Joseph Nabasa, 33 and Martin Matovu, 45 have been sent back to Luzira prison until tomorrow to hear evidence against the two who denied the allegations.
In September, they were first denied bail on February 3 by the same court after the State prosecutor, Mr Jonathan Muwaganya, queried the credibility of the sureties’ documents, saying they looked forged.
The case
The State alleges that the three submitted a false document dated April 16, 2015, as an instrument of handover of the contested Hotel Diplomate to Mr Mukesh, purporting that the said letter had been authored by Justice Katureebe.
By Hakim Mutesasira
