Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (Central Government) has faulted the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) over the diversion of Shs41.6 billion to activities outside their approved work plans without authorisation from the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
The findings are contained in the committee’s report on the Auditor General’s audit for the year ended December 2025, presented to Parliament during a plenary sitting chaired by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.
Committee chairperson and Kassanda North MP, Hon. Patrick Nsamba, said the two entities spent the money on activities that had not been appropriated by Parliament, contrary to the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act.
“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.
According to the report, the Ministry of Justice diverted Shs40.7 billion, while the ODPP spent Shs900 million on the construction of Resident State Attorney offices in Katakwi and Yumbe outside its approved work plan.
The committee noted that a significant portion of the expenditure went towards court awards and compensation, but maintained that savings on approved budget lines did not give the entities authority to spend on unapproved activities.
“Savings on a budget line do not confer authority to spend on activities outside the approved work plan,” Nsamba said.
The committee also raised concerns over staffing shortages at the ODPP, which had filled only 600 of its 1,704 approved positions. The report indicated that 399 prosecutors serving 149 field stations were facing heavy workloads.
Of the 40,501 new cases received by the office, only 23,184 had been committed for trial before the High Court, according to the report.
The MPs further questioned the procurement of works worth Shs457.68 million for the Yumbe office outside the electronic government procurement system.
Another concern was the performance of the Prosecution Case Management Information System (PROCAMIS), which the committee said remained malfunctioning despite expenditure of Shs42 billion since 2017.
Nsamba said the ODPP paid Shs2.95 billion to M/s Graphics Systems for maintenance and support during the 2024/2025 financial year, but key contractual deliverables were not provided.
These included integration with other criminal justice institutions and the establishment of an off-site disaster recovery facility.
“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,” Nsamba said.
The committee recommended enforcing the contract’s liability provisions, recovering funds where warranted, establishing disaster recovery arrangements and conducting an audit of the system.
The report also revealed that infrastructure in Arua and Lira had remained idle since November 2022.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice reported contingent liabilities amounting to Shs3.492 trillion, largely arising from lawsuits against government entities.
To address the growing exposure to legal claims, the committee recommended developing a litigation management strategy to improve the tracking and handling of cases involving government.
The committee called for stronger financial accountability, improved staffing, functional digital systems and tighter oversight of public expenditure across the two institutions.
