The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has reinstated 18 charges of electronic fraud and obtaining money by false pretense against David Balondemu, the chairperson of the Kampala District Land Board and a city lawyer.
The charges were dismissed earlier this year by the same court due to want of prosecution but were reinstated on November 12, 2024.
As a result, a new file was registered at court on November 12, 2024, and one of the three individuals jointly charged with Balondemu was arraigned before Buganda Road Court Grade One Magistrate Dan Mwesiga. The remanded accused is Joseph Ibona, an accountant at Bloom Advocates and a resident of Namugoona, Rubaga Division, Kampala District.
The other individuals jointly charged with Balondemu are lawyer Eric Mkwe Geoffrey, alias Muhiire Ivan, a lawyer at Bloom Advocates, and Ronald Kaweesa Kizito, alias Denis Tumusiime, a carpenter.
The prosecution alleges that between September 2022 and April 2023, the group conspired to obtain US$553,000 from an American firm, KG Unlimited LLC, Florida, USA, through Bloom Advocates’ dollar account at Stanbic Bank Garden City. The funds were allegedly obtained under false pretenses as local company registration/disbursement and statutory compliance fees to pre-qualify or participate in a single-source bidding for the procurement/supply of a water plant small grain, despite no such intent.
The accused persons also face charges of forgery, obtaining money by false pretense, and uttering false documents to falsely indicate that different resolutions had been made at Bloom Advocates.
According to the prosecution, some of these false documents were uttered to Nicholas Tumwebaze and Agnes Chandia, registrars at the Uganda Registration Services Bureau.
The court has issued criminal summons requiring Balondemu, Mkwe, and Kaweesi to appear on November 13, 2024, to plead to the charges.
The reinstatement of these fraud charges comes just a month after Balondemu was released on bail on charges of forging medical documents. The forgery allegedly occurred while he was attempting to secure bail on the previous fraud charges.
Balondemu has been frequently involved in legal troubles, including charges of fraud exceeding Shs2.2 billion from a Korean investor in a bogus gold deal, which were also dismissed by City Hall Court earlier this year.
