‘I didn’t defraud government’- Eutaw’s Apollo Senkeeto tells court

By our reporter

Eutaw Construction Company Country Representative Apollo Senkeeto who is being accused of defrauding government of shs24 billion which was meant to construct Kyetume-Katosi Road has on Tuesday morning defended himself over fraud allegations.

Senkeeto is being tried alongside former Works Minister Abraham Byandala and ex- Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) employees in the Anti-Corruption Court.

Mr. Senkeeto through his lawyer Peter Mulira, has told court that his company went through a proper bidding process and scooping the contract.

He said on securing the contract, UNRA paid Eutaw in Ugandan shillings for the road works instead of dollars and in a short run they lost over $500,000 which prompted them to add in more case which wasn’t part of the contract with the main essence of finishing the road works as per the contract terms.

“Actually after getting the contract, we made a loss of over $500,000 because instead of paying us in dollars they paid us in Ugandan shillings so we ended up using our own money which wasn’t part of the contract so there’s no way the Inspector General of Government (IGG) can claim that we defrauded government,” he narrated.

Counsel Mulira read two contradicting documents whereby in the first document IGG Irene Mulyagonja alleges that Senkeeto stole UNRA money whereas the second one UNRA pins Eutaw as a company to have defrauded them.
Last month, Senkeeto through a missive, tasked the IGG to investigate a company known as SBI instead of him or Eutaw.

He said SBI Company was contracted by UNRA to complete the construction of Mukono-Kyetume-Katosi/Kisoga- Nyenga Road after their contract (Eutaw) was terminated.

He accuses the IGG of personally involved in the illegal termination of Eutaw’s contract after disregarding the Attorney General’s advise which was communicated through the solicitor General as well as disregarding the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP)’s stand in the matter.

According to his letter, Senketto stated that after the illegal termination of Eutaw’s contract, UNRA together with the IGG handed over works to SBI, which works the company has failed to deliver after two years down the road despite having been paid upfront to the tune of shs350 billion for the road previously budgeted to cost shs162 billion.