The Directorate of Public prosecutions (DPP) is demanding for the case file in which two Ugandan judges and two other accomplices were sanctioned by the US government for being involved in a child adoption scam.
Last week, retired Judge Moses Mukiibi, Wilson Musaka Musene the Soroti High Court resident judge, lawyer Dorah Mirembe and her husband Patrick Ecobu were sanctioned by the United States government on allegations of orchestrating and lying to Ugandan families to give up their children for adoption to US families.
According to the DPP spokesperson Jacqueline Okui, the office of the DPP is now going to call for the case file to establish the standing of the investigations and determine the next course of action.
“The file will be assessed in light of the information released by the United States Department of Treasury’s, Office of Foreign Assets Control,” Okui said.
On August 18, Ugandans were treated to the shocking news of an adoption scam syndicate orchestrated by Lawyer Deborah Mirembe and her husband Patrick Ecobu where Ugandan children were removed from their mostly illiterate and unsuspecting parents with promises of special education programs in the United States under the care of missionaries.
The deputy secretary of the Treasury, Justin G Muzinich issued a statement saying the said people were involved in the scam to exploit the good faith of Ugandans and Americans for the purpose of enriching themselves.
The US government alleges that the adoption scam was organized under Mirembe’s law firm as a way of handling the legal aspects of the adoptions in some cases through manipulation and falsification of documents. To beat adoption legalities, Mirembe with assistance from her husband facilitated multiple bribes to Ugandan judges and other government officials to quicken the process of adoption.
“Mirembe paid bribes to get cases steered to judges Mukiibi and Musene, current and former government officials who have directly or indirectly engaged in corruption,” read the statement.
The accused face financial restrictions and sanctions that involve reporting and blocking of all personal property in the US as well as blocking travel to the US.
