Uganda Netball Federation president Babirye granted bail

Embattled Uganda Netball Federation (UNF) Sarah Babirye Kityo has been granted a Shs 1 million bail by Buganda Road Magistrate’s court.

Babirye who is facing charges of obtaining money by false pretense was granted bail alongside her co-accused, a businesswoman Zainab Namutebi by grade one magistrate Siena Owomugisha.

The prosecution alleges that Namutebi and Babirye and others still at large in the month of May 2022 in Kampala district obtained Shs 8 million from Sarah Wamala by falsely pretending that she was going to take her son to the United States whereas not.

It is also alleged that during the same time and place, the accused also obtained another Shs 8 million from Gloria Kikomeko Nantambi whom they also defrauded that they would take her to the United States. But the duo has denied the charges against them.

Babirye presented her fiance, Daniel Kisekka a sports agent, and her friend Dorothy Lwanga as her sureties while Namutebi presented her friends; Enoch Ekabu and Bob Katumba as her sureties.

The state attorney Joan Keko didn’t object to their bail application. Magistrate Owomugisha allowed the application and asked the sureties to each execute a noncash bond of Shs 4 million. Owomugisha emphasized that should any of the accused persons abscond from trial, she will be arrested and ordered to pay Shs 10 million cash and be imprisoned for a term that will be decided then.

She adjourned the case to June 6 for hearing to commence and issued witness summons requiring them to come and testify on that day. The accused persons were arrested on Monday and spent two nights in Luzira prison have since denied the charges against them hence the release on bail.

Background

Babirye who is a former Youth MP representing the Central Region is currently on a forced 3-month leave from her office as the UNF president. She was sent on leave to allow a special committee instituted by the minister of Sports and Education Janet Kataaha Museveni to investigate allegations of abuse of office and financial mismanagement.

The directive placed Brig Flavia Byekwaso as the interim president of the federation, which is currently preparing the She Cranes for the Netball World Championships.

Police has since February 2023 been investigating the federation over alleged financial mismanagement that stemmed from funds released by the National Council for Sports (NCS) for the 2021 Pent Series in Namibia which Uganda won.

The general secretary of National Council of Sports (NCS), Dr Bernard Ogwel has since revealed that UNF had defrauded the Ugandan government because the Namibian government had already covered all expenses for the netball delegation, including full board expenses for 17 members during the Pent Series.

He said NCS paid for the air tickets worth Shs 127 million for the She Cranes, which the netball body allegedly failed to acknowledge in their accounts. But Babirye denied the allegations, saying the netball body had received only Shs 186 million and had accounted for it in time. She said Ogwel has been repeatedly asking for kickbacks from their federation whenever funds are allocated to the She Cranes.   

She cited their trip to South Africa in 2021 for the Male Netball Championship where Ogwel reportedly demanded Shs 40 million out of the allocated Shs 100 million.

According to Babirye, although the federation’s top leadership agreed not to pay the kickback, vice president Richard Muhumuza, and general secretary Amina Mande defied the resolution and paid Ogwel Shs 30 million meant for the player’s allowances. The deputy inspector general of government Patricia Okiria Achan has since ordered Ogwel to pay back Shs 100 million to UNF.