BY APOLLO MUBIRU 

Embattled ministers Syda Bbumba and Khiddu Makubuya have quit Cabinet over payments made to City Businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba’s company.

Leader of Government business and third deputy Prime Minister, Moses Ali told Parliament on Thursday afternoon that the two senior ministers had agreed to quit.

Moses Ali’s statement was greeted with applause amidst foot stumping from MPs who had issued a 30-day ultimatum for the President to relieve the minister of their duties.

Bbumba who immediately rose to give a statement said, “Madam Speaker, Honorable members, I wish to take political responsibility of the mistakes made and I wish to confirm my resignation. My resignation however, does not mean that I am guilty. I am still innocent.”

Speaker Rebecca Kadaga struggled to maintain order in the House MPs continued to disrupt Bbumba from giving her statement.

“I have contributed to the liberation of this country as a young girl. I came to political lime in 1996 and up to date I have been a minister. I became the first Uganda energy and finance minister. During my tenure in office I was awarded the best finance minister in Africa. I want to thank my President the man with a vision for having appointed me to serve in various ministries,” she said.

“I wish to thank the President for having appointed me minister for the last 15 years and 9 months. It will not be complete if I do not thank the people of Nakaseke for having elected overwhelmingly. Although I am moving from the front bench, I wish to ask my colleagues on the back bench to receive me with warm hands,” she said amidst cheers from MPs. 

Makubuya who also gave a statement to the House criticized PAC committee for asking him for documents which were no longer in his custody.

“I was summoned to PAC committee and I was asked to answer what happened in the Attorney General’s office which I had already handed over to another team.”

Makubuya laid on table a number of letters to the House insisting that he did his work as an Attorney General.  

He asked Parliament in future to look into the issue of whether there is capacity and power in the office of the Attorney General in the execution of national matters.

He defended the methodology applied in the transaction saying it was well spelt out and known.

“I have been in this public life for over 16 years and I believe that I have done my best,” he stated.

He added, “Some colleagues have gone public on this issue and raised dust. Therefore I decided to create political space to enable those who think that they can take this matter to another step to do so without my influence. I thank the President for giving me the various opportunities to serve my country in various capacities. I also thank my colleagues from the sixth, Seventh, Eighth and now Ninth Parliament who have supported and really taught me to be a goog minister.”

He read from the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes. Shouting on top of his voice, Makubuya said, “There is time for everything.  There is time to be a minister and time to cease. Madam Speaker, Honorable members thank you for listening to me.”   

MPs had vowed to go with a censure motion. They are Peter Ogwang and Everlyn Anite both of NRM, William Nzoghu (FDC), Gilbert Olanya (Independent).

About 190 MPs had signed against Makubuya, who is minister of general duties in the office of the Prime Minister and 187 against Bbumba, the minister of gender.

The legislators said that Khiddu as attorney general was requested by the president for legal opinion on the legality of compensations sought by HABA Group of Companies, but never reverted to him to render the much-needed legal opinion.

For Bbumba, the petitioners said that as minister of finance, in whose custody all public funds are placed, "abused her office by acting very swiftly without exercising due diligence and undermining prudential measures instituted by technical staff to verify HABA compensation claims."

They said she "went ahead to interfere with the independence of Bank of Uganda by influencing the governor to assist HABA to be paid sh142b, even before the president had directed her to liaise with the governor."