Katopola’s case archived, police not ready

Police have said they are yet to finalise investigations into the case of Clerk of Parliament Matilda Katopola who was arrested recently and charged with abuse of office.

Katopola, who was expected in court on Wednesday, was immediately released on police bail after the initial police interrogations on June 26.

In an interview on Wednesday, national police spokesperson Davie Chingwalu said the case is yet to come to court since the law enforcers are still doing their investigations.

“It is only after we are through with the investigations that we will present the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions [DPP] and it will be up to the DPP to take up the case himself or send the file back to police for prosecution,” said Chingwalu.

He confirmed Katopola has been charged with abuse of office.

Chingwalu could not give details of the charge, but sources earlier said the charge is in connection with a 2008 case in which Katopola was accused of mis-procurement of printing services for the National Assembly. She is alleged to have awarded a contract to her company, Monik Trends.

But the National Audit Office and the Parliamentary Service Commission cleared Katopola of the allegations.

She is currently on forced leave and there have been revelations that some senior government officials want her out of office.