Nalwadda appeared before grade one magistrate Sanyu Mukasa on Friday and pleaded guilty to paying Shs 350,000 to Emmanuel Bagenda, a senior three student at St Janan Luwumu Secondary School to sit the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations for her niece, Hyuda Namuwonge, a student of Kawempe Standard Secondary School. Bagenda had been registered at the school. 

However, the deal went bad on Wednesday after one of the invigilators saw Namuwonge’s name written on Bagenda’s script. Namuwonge was also found in the same examination room, and on her paper, she had written Bagenda’s name. 

Magistrate Mukasa said that although she is a first-time offender, Nalwadda should receive a punishment that would deter others from the same offence of exam malpractice. She sentenced Nalwadda to a Shs 4.8 million fine and if she fails to pay, she will serve one-year imprisonment.

The court also granted a non-cash bail to Moses Hamara the head teacher of Kawempe Standard Secondary School who denied aiding and abetting impersonation. Court also issued criminal summons against Godfrey Kigozi, a teacher at St. Janan Luwum Secondary school who allegedly procured Bagenda to seat the exams.

“The public has to know that the Uneb Act 2021 is out to bite. We’re sending a very strong message that whoever engages in malpractice in whatever form is going to be prosecuted under this act. It is no longer business as usual. The previous law was very weak, the offences covered there were really very few and then the convictions associated with those offences were really weak. This time, we got the blessing of cabinet…Do not take advantage of what has happened today, it is because this lady did not waste court’s time…you will find another judicial official who will not take this nonsense and will actually convict you,” said Uneb senior legal officer Ann Kemali.  

Jennifer Kalule Musamba the principal public relations officer at Uneb said that they have so far recorded four other cases of examination malpractice in Kagadi district and others in Kamuli and Mbale. 

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