Kampala, Uganda | By Michael Wandati | President Yoweri Museveni has pardoned David Chandi Jamwa, the former Managing Director of National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
Jailed David Chandi Jamwa tops a list of 13 inmates who have been offered forgiveness under the Presidential prerogative of mercy, a reliable source has told the Kampala Dispatch.
“In the exercise of the power vest in me under article 121 (1) (a) of the constitution of the republic of Uganda, 1995 as mended and on the advice of the advisory committee on the prerogative of mercy, I hereby grant to the person below, on public health and humanitarian grounds,” Museveni’s Instrument of pardon seen exclusively by the Kampala Dispatch reads in part.
“David Chandi Jamwa, Prisoner number MBP 3348/2019,” the statement adds.
Other 12 prisoners who have benefited from the president’s prerogative of mercy include; Vincent Ntale, Nelson Drabo, James Omirambe, Samuel Aliama, Francis Leku, Joseph Kabila, Yoha Ayitia alias Samu, Fred Kato, Okello Zakaria, Nono Joseph, Jackson Owino and Ouma Mesach John alias Ojambo.
Origins of Chandi Jamwa’s troubles
In 2019, the Supreme Court revoked David Chandi Jamwa’s bail and upheld a 12-year prison sentence imposed by the Anti-Corruption Court in 2011.
This decision, supported by a 3-2 majority, confirmed the legality of the initial sentence, which had been endorsed by the Court of Appeal in 2018.
Former High Court judge John Bosco Katusi had convicted Jamwa for prematurely selling NSSF treasury bonds to Crane Bank at a loss.
The justices emphasized that Jamwa’s individual sale, bypassing Standard Chartered Bank, a primary dealer with NSSF, was incorrect.
They argued that the preferable course of action would have been rejecting the transaction, allowing the bonds to mature and realize their actual value.
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The court found no evidence supporting the claim that NSSF had collectively decided to prematurely sell the bonds, or that the fund was in urgent need of funds, leading its Managing Director to make such a negligent decision knowingly causing financial loss.
Despite Jamwa’s attempts at both Supreme and lower courts to argue that the bond sale was a collective decision, the Supreme Court remained unconvinced by his explanation.
As the head of state, President Museveni holds the exclusive authority to pardon inmates. Traditionally, he exercises this power at the end or beginning of the year. In 2022, President Museveni granted pardons to 79 inmates held in various prisons across Uganda.
