IGG addresses press over court ruling

By Vision Reporter

The Acting Inspector General of Government (IGG) Raphael Baku is set to address the press over the last week’s court ruling which rendered him incompetent.

The Constitutional court stopped Baku from prosecuting ministers, Sam Kutesa, John Nasasira and Mwesigwa Rukutana because the inspectorate is not fully constituted.

The court ruled that the IGG could not prosecute the three ministers or any one for cases involving abuse of office and corruption and causing financial loss because by acting alone in prosecuting the officials he was breaching the constitution.

Now Baku in a news conference at Uganda Media Centre in Kampala is expected to unveil his next course of action following a landmark ruling which rendered the inspectorate toothless.

Meanwhile, a group of 5 MPs have drafted a motion urging the President to immediately appoint a substantive IGG and the two deputies to enable the inspectorate fight graft.

Raphael Baku has been acting IGG for the past two years because the President has not named a substantive IGG.

The deputy chief justice, Alice Mpagi Bahigaine, Justice Steven Kavuma, Stella Arach Amoko, Augustine Nsimye and Remmy Kasule, in their ruling said the Inspectorate is not dully constituted as required by the constitution to commenced proceedings against any one alleged to have been involved in corruption, abuse of office and causing financial loss.

The court said that for the inspectorate in its current form cannot prosecute any corruption related crimes.

The court was Thursday delivering a ruling in a petition filed by Nasasira, Kutesa and Rukutana who have been facing abuse of office charges relating to the mismanagement of the funds meant for commonwealth summit in 2007.

The ministers in October last year announced that they had stepped down from Cabinet ahead of their trial before the anti-corruption court the following day.

In a joint statement, the trio said they had decided to step aside, to allow the due process of court to take place without interference.