THE former director of the Parliamentary budget office, Samuel Wanyaka has been convicted of stealing sh822m.

The Anti-Corruption Court presided over by Justice Paul Mugambe on Thursday found Wanyaka guilty of three counts of Embezzlement, Abuse of office and false accounting by a public servant. The court will however pass a sentence against Wanyaka on July 29. He was sent back to Luzira prison.

Any person found guilty of abuse of office under the Anti- Corruption Act is liable to seven year's imprisonment while embezzlement carries a maximum sentence of fourteen years on conviction. False accounting carries a maximum sentence of three years.

In his ruling, Mugambe stated that Wanyaka misused his office and could not account for the money which was meant for government duties. "Parliament did not receive any accountability from the money which was advanced to Wanyaka for service delivery surveys".

The judges' ruling deviates from the joint advice of two court assessors who had asked him to acquit Wanyaka for lack of evidence from the Inspectorate of Government (IGG). Mugambe found Wanyaka guilty basing on the evidences adduced in court by 29 witnesses pinning him of the crime.