Kampala Central Division Deputy Mayor Hanipher Mpungu has been remanded to Luzira prison on charges of obtaining money by false pretence through land fraud.
Mpungu, who was appointed Kampala Central Urban Council Division Mayor Salim Uhuru as his deputy in July 2021, was further remanded by Nakawa Court Chief Magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa on Wednesday, September 13, 2023.
It is alleged that she sold land at UGX 450 million to businessman Tony Mulinde Lugayuzi, yet the said land belonged to the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council.
Despite maintaining her innocence, Mpungu’s bail application and trail could not proceed as the Resident State Attorney (RSA), Doreen Elima, is on leave.
According to records, Mpunga was previously released on police bond on August 12, 2023, but failed to comply. Later, she was subsequently summoned to court on August 23, 2023. Her attorney allegedly made up information about her admission to the Wellington Diabetes and Heart Centre Nakasero.
However, Detective AIP Peter Abwona’s investigation found no evidence of her presence at that hospital.
“On the 31st day of August 2023, the accused, who had earlier claimed to be admitted at Wellington Diabetes and Heart Centre Nakasero, was intercepted and arrested while attending a party with her children in Nangabo Kasangati,” reads an affidavit by Abwona.
She has been remanded until September 20, 2023, for a bail hearing and trail, when the RSA will be back from leave to handle her application and commence with a trail.
If found guilty, the offence she is charged with carries a maximum prison sentence of five years.
