By Spy Uganda Investigations Team
Last week, TheSpy Uganda exclusively broke the story of Managing Director Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (UPPC) professor Tom Wasswa Davis of allegedly siphoning over Ugx 3billion corporation money, which he stealthily passed on unto himself as commission having brokered a Ugx 9billion printing deal from the electoral commission to gazette for them the 2021-2026 electoral roadmap and the legally elected leaders from the 2021 general elections.
We also told you of how the Proxy ‘Commission Agent’ he used to withdraw the Shs3billion from the corporation account purportedly going to pay him, ended up getting a paltry shs3 million as his cut from the deal, thereby the professor taking the lion’s share. More painful was the fact that the poor lad also had to share the shs3million with other ‘colleagues’ in the loot.
But now, the latest info. we have indicates that prof. Wasswa managed to secure himself a police bond on Thursday last week, after spending more than 48 hrs, the mandatory time one must spend under police detention before he/she is formally charged.
“The investigations we’re doing are very deep, not your usual ‘chicken thief investigations, where even a dog can lead us to the thief in one day. These ones involve very sophisticated networks and so we need to dig deeper than your naked eyes can see. We don’t want to rush because of the 48hrs deadline, let him get the bond as we investigate, after all, we have the most key ‘grey areas’ already covered and there’s substantial evidence to cause his successful prosecution,” our most reliable source on condition of anonymity told our spy.
READ ALSO: Police Arrests UPPC MD Prof.Tom Wasswa For ‘Swallowing’ Over UGX 3Billion Corporation Money!
According to transaction details, our spy has since intercepted, UPPC legally received Shs9billion from Electoral Commission via the official company’s bank accounts to gazette the 2021-2026 electoral roadmap and the successfully elected leaders from the general elections.
However, using his influence as Managing Director of the corporation, prof. Tom Wasswa Davis managed to create a proxy commission agent, for whom a hefty of Shs3billion was withdrawn allegedly to pay his commission from the sh9b business deal. The money was successfully withdrawn with the pretext of paying the proxy commission agent, but ended up in the sharp ‘jaws’ and deeper pockets of the professor!
Important to note also, is that, according to UPPC Act, the law doesn’t allow payment of any sort of commission Agents for any business brought to the corporation by any individual either working with the corporation or from outside the corporation. It prohibits such transactions, just like Toyota Uganda.
According to our spy following the matter, the professor was delivered at Kibuli CID on Tuesday and was detained till Thursday pending further investigations.
Our sources further revealed that so far several former board members have since been interrogated and given bond, although some are yet to appear on account of being sick or having travelled, our source added.
UPPC is a public enterprise fully owned by Uganda Government. It was established in 1992 by the UPPC Act, Cap 330. Section 2(2) of the UPPC Act, which provides that, the Corporation shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, and may sue or be sued in its corporate name.
The Corporation started out as the Government Printer under the British Colonial Government in 1902, which makes it 119 years old today. In 1962 the department remained under the office of the President, being funded by public funds allocated under the Government printer vote. Its main role at the time was to supply stationary and provide printing and publishing facilities to all Government ministries and departments.
But due to the important role played by the Corporation in the printing of all Bills, Statutes and Official Gazette, Cabinet classified it under Class I among those public bodies that Government had to retain full ownership of.
Beginning March 2021, Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (UPPC), jointly with Uganda Security Printing Company (USPC) took over the services of printing and issuing driving permits and passports from South Africa’s Face Technologies whose contract expired on February 28, 2021.
UPPC executed a Joint Venture Agreement on October 4, 2018, with Veridos GmbH and Giesecke + Devrient GmbH, a consortium individually represented by Veridos GmbH, a company incorporated under the Laws of Germany now represented in Uganda under Uganda Security Printing Company Limited (USPC).
Government via UPPC owns 51 per cent of its shareholding while Veridos GmbH via USPC owns 49 per cent.
In Our next issue tomorrow, we bring you the fat cut deals between EC top dogs and UPPC who benefited what from the shs9 billion. Watch the space..…..
