The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) reportedly spent UGX 6.85 billion on the purchase of 32 vehicles instead of 40 By Prisca WanyenyaThe Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has tasked the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to account for UGX 6.85 billion spent on the purchase of 32 vehicles, yet records indicate 40 vehicles were meant to be procured at the same cost.The matter came up during a meeting between the DPP and PAC on August 21, 2026, to consider the Auditor General’s report for December 2025, after scrutiny of the Directorate’s financial statements revealed inconsistencies in the vehicle procurement.Patrick Nsamba, Chairperson of PAC, demanded evidence of the purchase and proof that the vehicles are registered in government’s name, not in the names of individuals at the ODPP.“We expected 40 vehicles, you have to prove to us why you bought less by 8 vehicles. We have noted that you chose not to reflect them in the books of accounts. We don’t know the intention, whether those cars are registered in DPP’s names. We may be seeing vehicles when only three were registered in the DPP’s name and the rest are probably in people’s names. So we need proof that all those vehicles are government vehicles and registered as government vehicles,” Nsamba said.Agnes Kainza, Permanent Secretary at the ODPP, told the Committee that each pickup was bought at UGX 189 million, although the Directorate had initially budgeted UGX 140 million per vehicle.However, when asked for the exact cost per vehicle, the Head of Procurement at the ODPP asked for more time to furnish documents, a response that angered Nsamba.“You do not know the cost of each vehicle, that can’t happen. It implies that you want to cook figures at this moment. How can you fail to know the cost of a vehicle when you purchased 32 vehicles? Criminal Investigations Directorate (attached to Parliament), kindly go with this lady to their office quickly. I need information, if she can’t produce it, you retain her for us,” Nsamba said.Karim Masaba (Mbale Industrial Division) cited details from the ODPP’s asset register indicating UGX 605 million was spent on each motor vehicle and UGX 118 million on motorcycles and bicycles.Tension escalated when the Head of Procurement returned without the requested documents, prompting Nsamba to order her detention until the UGX 6.85 billion is accounted for.“Are you the head of procurement? I have wasted my time and asked you to go to your office to bring documents, and you are back with your books. CID, keep this lady with us because she is not willing to cooperate. I gave you time to go to your office to bring the documents, I don’t know what you’ve convinced the CID. So keep her with us until we sort this,” Nsamba said.Director of Public Prosecutions Lino Anguzu pleaded for leniency, saying the officer may not have reached the office.“I want to seek your indulgence. I don’t think she went to office, I don’t think she reached office. I think she must have called someone. I know what you ordered. My request is you allow her to go back,” Anguzu said.But Nsamba rejected the request: “No, no, no, that is playing with us. We are asking you where are the UGX 6.8 billion in your books, you can’t show. Now the person who went to bring the books has also come back empty-handed. How do you expect me to behave? I want the information now.”DPP Accused of aiding Rights ViolationsThe DPP was also accused by some MPs of conniving with security agencies to aid human rights violations, citing charges brought against former Butambala County MP Muwanga Kivumbi after he was reportedly abducted for 19 days before being dumped at Natete Police Station.Nsamba questioned how the DPP quickly processed Kivumbi’s file.“Police said they do not know about the people that abducted him, they said he was not under arrest because they don’t have him. Being a Ugandan, we expected you to have picked interest in that matter because if police wanted anybody, there are procedures of arrest. But for somebody who has been missing for 19 days and you appear with a prostitution case, you are highly suspected to be part of the team that is doing that,” Nsamba said.Anguzu defended his team, saying prosecutors work from Monday to Friday and must act on files presented to them based strictly on documentation.“We very strictly rely on what is documented because we can account for it,” he said.Wakiso Woman MP Ethel Naluyima called for a joint meeting of all Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) institutions, saying they keep shifting blame over case backlog.“We need to have a meeting with all the institutions of the JLOS sector because everywhere somehow you feel there is some injustice done to Ugandans and as we have interacted with these institutions one is pointing to the other,” she said.The DPP also defended his decision to withdraw cases, saying it is a technical process involving reviews and at least three opinions by successive ranking officers before a final decision is made on whether continued prosecution is in public interest.The post MPs Order Arrest of DPP Procurement Head Over UGX 6.85Bn Missing Vehicles appeared first on Business Focus.