The Anti-Corruption Court has issued a warrant of arrest for Parliament Office Supervisor Stella Itute after she failed to appear before court to answer charges related to the alleged embezzlement of public funds.
Grade One Magistrate Esther Asiimwe issued the warrant on Tuesday after prosecutors from the Inspectorate of Government (IG) informed the court that efforts to trace Itute had failed.
Brenda Kimbugwe, the IG’s Manager of Prosecutions, told the court that all the other accused persons were present except Itute, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
“We have made several attempts to locate her without success. We therefore pray for a warrant of arrest,” Kimbugwe submitted.
A lawyer holding brief for defence counsel Asuman Basalirwa told the court that he was unable to explain Itute’s absence because he was only representing Basalirwa, who had not yet arrived in court.
After considering submissions from both sides, Magistrate Asiimwe granted the prosecution’s request and ordered all police officers across the country to arrest Itute on sight and produce her before the Anti-Corruption Court. The case was adjourned to August 10, 2026, for mention.
Itute is accused of embezzling UGX 75 million, the lowest amount among the sums allegedly misappropriated by the accused persons in the case. According to information presented in court, she was reportedly on leave when her co-accused were arrested earlier this month.
The court also heard that the High Court is expected to hear bail applications filed by Itute’s co-accused on August 3, 2026.
Defence lawyers asked the magistrate to issue production warrants to facilitate the accused persons’ appearance before the High Court for the bail hearing. However, Magistrate Asiimwe declined the request, explaining that only the High Court has the authority to issue production warrants for proceedings before it.
“If the High Court scheduled the bail hearing, it will also issue the necessary production warrants,” she ruled.
Itute is jointly charged with seven other current and former Parliament officials over allegations of embezzlement, money laundering and causing financial loss to the government amounting to more than UGX 27.2 billion.
The other accused are Chris Obore Ariko, Director of Communications and Public Affairs; Daniel Adilo, Director of Human Resource; Leonard Okema, Executive Secretary in the Office of the Speaker; Rajab Kaaya Ssemalulu, Principal Research Officer; Emmanuel Emuron Okwi, Principal Protocol Officer; Vincent Otebata, Capacity Development Officer; and Methods Murebe, Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Parliamentary Cooperative Savings and Credit Society (SACCO).
According to the prosecution, Obore allegedly embezzled UGX 5.253 billion, Adilo UGX 14.609 billion, Okema UGX 3.489 billion, Ssemalulu UGX 2.170 billion, Okwi UGX 1.105 billion, Otebata UGX 5.253 billion and Itute UGX 75 million.
Prosecutors contend that the accused used their positions within Parliament to access and divert funds that had been allocated for parliamentary donations and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, resulting in a financial loss of UGX 27.201 billion to the Government of Uganda.
In addition to the embezzlement-related charges, Obore, Adilo, Okema, Ssemalulu, Otebata and Murebe also face money laundering charges. The prosecution alleges that between January 2023 and April 2026, they processed, approved and received UGX 10.893 billion despite knowing the funds were proceeds of crime.
The accused persons have remained on remand since July 2, 2026. They were returned to Luzira Prison, where they will remain until the matter returns to court on August 10, as investigations continue.
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