OPM fraud: Bigirimana to face Kazinda before MPs

By Mary Karugaba     
                                   
Who exactly stole the Peace Recovery and Development Programe (PRDP) funds in the Office of the Prime Minister? This question that has puzzled the public for weeks now could be answered on Monday next week, when the arrested principal accountant Geoffrey Kazinda appears before PAC alongside his Permanent Secretary, Pius Bigirimana.

The Public Accounts Committee has written to the Commissioner General of Uganda Prisons Johnson Byabashaija to facilitate Kazinda to come and testify before the committee. Bigirimana, was scheduled to appear before the probe committee today (Wednesday) but the meeting was later cancelled to enable the commissioner general process Kazinda's appearance.

In a letter dated November 20, PAC chairman Paul Mwiru requested Byabashaija to let Kazinda appear before the committee and clarify on some of the issues raised during the course of the probe.

“This is to seek your indulgence to facilitate the appearance of the arrested Principal accountant Geoffrey Kazinda to appear together with the permanent secretary Pius Bigirimana on Monday,” reads the letter seen by New Vision.  

Mwiru said there have been counter accusations amongst the officials and it is therefore prudent that they both appear together. “When officials accuse each other, it is right that they appear together and defend their actions,” Mwiru said.

Bigirimana has on several occasions said he was the whistle blower and most of the transactions were done by Kazinda.

Documents tabled to the committee by different officials in the course of the probe however pinned Bigirimana as one of the key individuals who requested for the money. Over sh20b meant for PRDP was transferred using forged documents from ministry of finance to another account where it was stolen from.  As a result, a number of donors have cut their aid to Uganda.

 Meanwhile MPs probing the OPM scam yesterday looked on bemusedly as arrested and interdicted officials from the ministry of Finance traded accusations over responsibility for the financial scam.

The arrested officials  Bright Atwine,  a senior accountant and Wilbert Okello a principal system analyst, delivered from police cells, pinned their counterparts as responsible for their fate while the apparently 'scot free' colleagues shot back, denying the allegations.

During the meeting, Okello told the MPs that senior economists David Mugisha from Finance and Charles Mwasa, an accountant from Accountant General's office requested him to disguise sh14.8b as salary and transfer it from one account to another in Bank of Uganda.

“I was in my office busy transferring salaries for December. These two officials came and said there is an issue I needed to look at. They told me they wanted to move this money from one account to another within BOU. They had even scribbled what they wanted to be done,” Okello said.

“They scribbled even the formula for the movement, and kept arguing about the source, the destination and the whole process of the movement. I did what they told me,” Okello added, as Mwasa and Mugisha looked on in bewilderment.

“My instincts told me to keep the documents,” Okello said as he tabled them to the committee.

Okello complained that after giving the committee the right information, “I was immediately arrested. I am hesitant to reveal further information.”

Mwasa and Mugisha, vehemently denied knowledge of the documents.  “I know Okello but those documents are not mine. That is not even my handwriting,” Mugisha said.

After hours of counteraccusations, MPs said they would view the images of CCTVs in order to determine whether the meeting took place.

Atwine, and Okello testified amidst tight security. Atwine broke down in the committee and asked whether it was fair for them to be arrested while their colleagues walk free.

 “Is it really fair? We were arrested yet we knew nothing. Our colleagues are here walking freely. Is it surely fair?” she asked before breaking down.

The MPs insisted Mugisha had a case to answer since he initiated the emails that led to the transfer of funds from holding account to a dormant account called crisis management account where it was misused.