The Public Accounts Committee (Central Government) has criticised the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for diverting Shs41.6 billion to activities outside their approved work plans.
This, according to the Committee, was done without authorisation by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Henry Musasizi.
The committee, chaired by Kassanda North MP, Hon. Patrick Nsamba, said the expenditure contravened provisions of the Public Finance Management Act.
The findings are contained in the committee’s report on the Auditor General’s audit for the year ended December 2025, presented during plenary sitting chaired by Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa on Wednesday, 21 October 2026.
“The two entities applied a combined Shs41.6 billion to items that Parliament had not appropriated, without evidence of the Minister’s authorisation,” Nsamba said.
The ODPP spent Shs900 million on constructing Resident State Attorney offices in Katakwi and Yumbe outside its approved work plan, while the ministry of Justice diverted Shs40.7 billion.
“Savings on a budget line do not confer authority to spend on activities outside the approved work plan,” Nsamba said.
According to the committee, a big amount of the money was spent on court awards and compensation.
The report noted that the ODPP had filled only 600 of its 1,704 approved positions, leaving 399 prosecutors serving 149 field stations to handle heavy workloads, adding that out of 40,501 new cases received, only 23,184 were committed for High Court trial.
The committee also questioned the procurement of works worth Shs457.68 million for the Yumbe office outside the electronic government procurement system.
The committee report further raised concern over the malfunctioned Prosecution Case Management Information System (PROCAMIS), despite a Shs42 billion expenditure, since 2017.
Nsamba added that the ODPP paid Shs2.95 billion to M/s Graphics Systems for maintenance and support in 2024/2025, but key deliverables, including integration with other criminal justice institutions and an off-site disaster recovery facility, were not provided.
“Shillings 2.95 billion was paid under a contract whose two principal deliverables were not provided and the liability clause was not invoked against the provider,” he said.
The committee recommended enforcing the contract’s liability provisions, recovering warranted funds, establishing disaster recovery arrangements and auditing the system.
The Committee’s findings also revealed that infrastructure in Arua and Lira had remained idle since November 2022.
Nsamba said that the ministry of Justice reported contingent liabilities of Shs3.492 trillion, largely arising from lawsuits against government entities.
The committee recommended a litigation management strategy to improve tracking and management of claims.
The Committee also called for stronger financial accountability, improved staffing, functional digital systems and tighter oversight of public expenditure.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.