Uganda: Court Orders African Children's Choir to Account for U.S. Funds

Uganda: Court Orders African Children's Choir to Account for U.S. Funds

New Vision (Kampala)

1 October 2008
Posted to the web 2 October 2008

Dismus Buregyeya
Kampala

MASAKA chief magistrate David Batema has ordered the Glory Ministry International to account for earnings from music shows its children's choir earned in a tour of the US recently.

A group of 20 children, under the Kampala-based African Children Choir, who went on a five-month trip to the US, were presented before the court in Masaka on September 26.

Batema said the Government directed the children to report to court after their return to ensure their safety. "We are experiencing child-trafficking problems.

"The government is interested in ensuring that all the children who went to the US for the trip returned safely. The other concern is the accountability of the funds raised during their concerts," he said.

Speaking about their experience on the trip, the group leader, Betty Kisakye, said: "We talked much about the beauty of our country. We generally had a nice time apart from the strange diet."

The children visited 25 states in the US. However, the group's financial leader, Kerry Harles, told court that thugs broke into their vehicle in Chicago and stole their property, including a laptop computer, which contained information about the trip.

Harles was responding to the demands to account for the money raised from the shows. She said data about collections and expenditures was on the laptop that was stolen.

"I cannot give court the financial report now, but when I return to the US on Tuesday, I will bring the report," she said.

She said the US police were still investigating the theft, adding that she would get the information from the churches where the children held the shows.

"The money is safe because the churches used to collect it on our behalf," she said.

Harles said part of the money would be used to pay the children's third term school fees.

The Chief Magistrate warned the organisation that if they failed to provide the accountability before January next year, the group's activities would be suspended, adding that Harles would also be barred from coming to Uganda.