Peter Nyombi misled Government

Oct 13, 2011

IN spite of all the possible faults, MPs must rise to the occasion, and NRM’s strength should not be used for selfish greedy ends. It was pathetic seeing ministers failing to present logical and coherent accounts.

By Ofwono Opondo

MEMBERS  of Parliament debating the controversies surrounding the oil and gas exploration in Uganda have rolled senior government ministers Amama Mbabazi, Sam Kutesa and Hillary Onek all in one go into a political sewer with accusations of political and financial impropriety, which, I think, will be difficult for either side to prove beyond reasonable doubt. 

The sums involved and the sequences of the alleged bribery, especially through international bank transactions, are too huge and fast to be believed on face value. But looking back at how a few officials in the local government ministry stole sh9b for 70,000 bicycles meant for local councillors using the central bank and a similar international path, one can only be left in awe. 

In spite of all the possible faults, MPs must rise to the occasion, and NRM’s strength should not be used for selfish greedy ends. It was pathetic seeing ministers failing to present logical and coherent accounts.

What began as a slow joke turned into a full-scale fight of wolves chasing hyenas once Parliament Speaker Rebecca Kadaga bowed to the pressure to recall Parliament after the petitioner in dramatic and bipartisan move gathered 194 signatures more than the required number by the constitution for her to recall Parliament from a sine die recess she had sent it. You know, wolves hunt in packs, usually aggressively, while hyenas are stealthy scavengers that eat anything that has been abandoned. 

Honestly, Kadaga had behaved suspiciously to question and reject the MPs demands, apparently acting on misguided pressures from part of the executive that always want to have its way in every matter.

However, when the petitioners led by Abdu Katuntu (Bugweri) and Theodore Sekikubo (Lwemiyaga) stood their ground and pulled out the red card for Kadaga, she was left standing alone, as the Attorney General Peter Nyombi who had been so obstinate with ‘confidentiality’ to details in the oil agreements scampered into flight for his political life.

Efforts by the Prime Minister and NRM Secretary General Amama Mbabazi to use the party’s parliamentary caucus to filibuster the debate came too late on Monday, and too futile to soothe the anger that had been generated by Nyombi’s dismissive obstructions hiding behind legalese. Nyobi should be on the firing line for bringing the government on to these tinker-hooks, and if he does not jump earlier, he should be pushed.

As the matters stand now, Parliament voted almost unanimously to have a full-scale inquiry on the nascent oil, petroleum and gas oil industry, which some Government officials had made their sole monopoly, and the look of things from the two-day debate in Parliament, the hens are coming home to roost. A full-scale inquiry could be an opportunity for those accused like Mbabazi, Kutesa, Onek, Justice Billy Kainamura, and deputy secretary to the treasury Keith Muhakanazi, among others, to clear their names, and it is difficult to understand why Kutesa was opposing it, preferring a kangaroo court on the floor of Parliament.

Also during the debate it became very apparent that the accused ministers had lost complete face and respect among the backbenchers, and even from the front-bench as no other ministers could stand up to offer explanations except for the very poor show tinged with primitive outburst from Vice-President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi. Onek did well to cut short his defence proclaiming his complete innocence preferring an inquiry.

Amama Mbabazi had begun his defence well by welcoming the inquiry only to be trapped in those uncalled for suspicious documents whose origins could have only been through influence-peddling, since Tullow stands accused of trying to bribe its way into the Ugandan oil industry. Also, although known to be an old hand in clandestine security operations, it is curious why Mbabazi tabled in Parliament letters written by Tullow Oil Company to Kadaga basing on a late night parliamentary debate even before she received it! Should the petitioners pursue this line, it is difficult not seeing Mbabazi answering accusations of influence-peddling using his current and former offices to obtain the much undeserved letters from Tullow or trying to exonerate his adult children from alleged shoddy businesses.

And then came Kutesa, again with disputable documents, and one is rightly compelled to question how he became privy to Police inquiries and reports stretching from Uganda-London-Malta and Dubai except perhaps peddling influence. And having gone through the first censure in 1998 in which many of us believed he was innocent, one wonders why Kutesa could not put a better show this time.

 

Writer is the Deputy NRM Spokesperson and head of URTAF, a private think tank

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});