PARLIAMENT | COSASE | IGG KAMYA 

KAMPALA - The Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) have failed to interact with the Inspector General of Government (IGG), Beti Kamya, who reportedly got sick moments before appearing before the legislators.

COSASE Chaired by Joel Ssenyonyi (Nakawa West, NUP) invited Kamya in her capacity as former Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development to answer about her role in the operations of the Uganda Land Commission (ULC).

Kamya, who was at Parliament to participate in the breakfast fellowship that ended at about 8:30am could not make it to the COSASE meeting that started at 10am and Ssenyonyi informed legislators that she had heart-related complications.

“Her personal assistant has called me saying she got a call from the daughter that IGG got a heart attack and has been rushed to hospital. So we are waiting to get feedback and see if she can return,” said Ssenyonyi.

At the end of the meeting in which the Committee quizzed former ULC staff, Ssenyonyi said that he had not gotten feedback about the health status of the IGG but insisted that she must be invited again to answer the issues where her role as a former Minister is questioned.

The legislators want to quiz the IGG about her role in requesting and spending sh10.62b supplementary budget for compensation of six claimants without the approval of ULC board. 

The genuineness of the supplementary budget beneficiaries has been questioned after ULC Chairperson Beatrice Byenkya told legislators recently that only one had a legitimate claim.

Kyadondo East MP Muwada Nkunyingi questioned the circumstances under which the IGG reportedly got sick having been at Parliament saying she will not be allowed to dodge the Committee.

“Kamya has been mentioned a lot in matters of land and she has a lot of information that we need but telling us that she got a heart attack from here, this is not serious. We want the IGG to come peacefully without issuing summons to her. We have a ULC Chairperson who is indisposed but she has been coming,” he said.

Imaryo no show

Meanwhile, the Committee is at stake on how to find suspended ULC Secretary Barbara Imaryo who has been accused by technical staff of being responsible for most of the queries in the Auditor General’s report. Two warrants of arrest have been issued but the police have failed to arrest and drag her to Parliament to testify to the Committee.

Ssenyonyi said that COSASE leadership has decided to take the matter on with the Inspector General of Police Martins Okoth Ochola to ensure that Imaryo is arrested because she has eluded the Parliament police.

“It appears there are people protecting Barbara Imaryo because they were involved in fraud and we are now engaging the IGP to escalate this since ordinary police officers cannot arrest her. 

We are also trying to establish from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to know if she fled the country so that Interpol is involved,” said Ssenyonyi.

Imaryo is being sought to explain how she paid the sh10.62b to six beneficiaries after the Commission had questioned five of the beneficiaries and written to Bank of Uganda to stop the transactions. 

She's accused of her role in the payment of public funds into personal accounts of ULC staff something MPs suspect amounts to fraud.

Meanwhile, the Committee caused the arrest of Siraje Isabirye, the current Senior Accountant of the ICT Ministry for flouting laid down procedures while serving in a similar capacity at ULC when the sh10.62b supplementary was spent.

Isabirye, who confirmed to the Committee that as a Senior Accountant he never made payments without evidence of approval by the board, revealed that he worked under pressure from Imaryo to credit the money on accounts of the six beneficiaries.

“With respect to this one, it became like it was a special sort of payment. I want to apologise and I should have asked for information from the board. Maybe I used a different channel,” said Isabirye.

Ssenyonyi insisted on handing the former Chief Accountant to the police detectives attached to the Committee because it is evident that he connived with Imaryo who was the Accounting Officer to spend a supplementary budget that was opposed by the Commission.

“The apology is inadequate because this is sh10.62b and I hold you responsible for not following the guidelines to safeguard public funds. There must have been a syndicate to steal this money,” he ruled.

Isabirye was also held responsible for depositing money to personal accounts of ULC staff and he could not explain where he got the authority to do so. 

Two weeks ago, Joan Namulondo, the Senior Human Resource Officer was arrested after failing to explain why sh150m was found on her personal account.

Isabirye confirmed to the Committee that he deposited money on accounts of several staff to do fieldwork and named the Head of Planning Unit, Walter Jokeni, and his Assistant, Sarah Nambooze.

The Committee directed Acting Secretary to the Commission, Andrew Nyumba, to furnish it with salary accounts for all the staff so that detectives investigate how money has been paid into and withdrawn from their accounts.