David Balondemu (L) in court
Kampala District Land Board chairperson David Balondemu has been remanded to Luzira prison for allegedly obtaining money by false pretense.
Appearing before City Hall court on Friday, Balondemu was also charged with conspiracy to commit a felony together with lawyer Eric Geoffrey Mkwe who is still at large. Two weeks ago businessmen; James Jeff Mugisha and Godfrey Mabirizi were also charged and remanded by the same court over the same.
Court presided over by grade one magistrate Edgar Karakire heard that the accused persons and others still at large, between the months of March and November 2021 at the offices of Balondemu and Company Advocates along Parliamentary Avenue in Kampala city, obtained $600,000 (about Shs 2.2 billion) by falsely pretending that they were selling 53kgs of gold to Hyun UK Kim, a Korean investor whereas not.
Balondemu denied the charges against him, and through his lawyers led by Evans Ochieng and Mukasa Mbidde, asked to be granted bail. He argued that he is an officer of the court with historical unquestionable legal experience as a lawyer. He presented Dr Richard Lukandwa a consultant physician at the Medical Hub, Richard Collins Kiberu, the managing director of C and C Investments and Goldmark Property Limited, his wife Slyvia Bahizi an employee at Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) and businesswoman Betty Nakayima as his sureties.
Prosecution led by state attorney, Mercy Yamangusho Khaidarah said Mkwe ran away and is so close to Balondemu that when he is granted bail, he may run away too – thereby complicating the prosecution case. She added that investigations are incomplete and therefore releasing Balondemu will jeopardize the ongoing inquiries.
The magistrate asked to be given more time to study the application and remanded Balondemu until November 6. Balondemu was arrested four days ago by the detectives attached to the State House Anti Corruption Unit and has been in detention at the Special Investigations Department (SID) in Kireka prior to his production in a fully parked courtroom.
It has become common for some law firms in Kampala to be implicated in gold scams where specifically they are being accused of conniving with the suspects, an accusation they have denied.
Source: The Observer
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