KAMPALA, Uganda (UGNEWSLINE) – The Anti-Corruption Court has granted Matthew Bagonza, head of the Secretariat of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID), cash bail of Shs20 million as he faces charges of money laundering and abuse of office.
The court also ordered each of his sureties to execute a non-cash bond of Shs30 million. Bagonza must surrender his passport, deposit his land title and that of his sister with the court, and seek permission before travelling outside Uganda.
He is also required to report to the court registrar whenever his case comes up for mention.
Bagonza’s case follows his controversial arrest on August 25, 2026, when security personnel reportedly picked him up from his home in Entebbe.
The arrest came shortly after Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba publicly declared PACEID an illegal organisation and threatened to arrest officials accused of corruption.
Muhoozi later confirmed Bagonza’s detention by posting a photograph of him shirtless on X, accompanied by the words “Learning Kiswahili.” He subsequently threatened physical punishment against the detainee.
The photograph, reportedly associated with Bagonza’s detention in a basement, sparked public controversy over the circumstances of his arrest and treatment.
PACEID chairman Odrek Rwabwogo, who is Muhoozi’s brother-in-law, said President Yoweri Museveni had told him he was unaware of the arrest and had not ordered it.
Prosecutors have accused Bagonza of abuse of office and laundering approximately Shs 171.7 million allegedly transferred from an account associated with PACEID to a personal account. The allegations remain subject to determination by the courts.
