By Henry Mukasa and Cyprian Musoke

DISASTER preparedness minister, Musa Ecweru has said he is ready to go for a DNA test to prove that he did not defile and impregnate a 17-year old minor.

Giving a statement of personal explanation to Parliament yesterday, the Amuria MP, vowed that he is ready to face justice when court summons are served on him.

He said he had not yet received the summons, either at his office, home or through the office of the Speaker.

â€œThis is the hoax of the year,â€ he told Parliament presided over by Deputy Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga. â€œImmediately I am served with the summons I am ready to go for the DNA test. After that I will ask the Police to investigate and reach the bottom of all this so that my name is cleared,â€ Ecweru stated.

The Buganda Road Chief Magistrateâ€™s Court has summoned Ecweru to appear today to answer charges of defilement.

But Ecweru claimed his problems are political.

â€œMy problems worsened because of my style of work. I am not a flamboyant minister but very close to my people and seen as a dangerous mobiliser. While that approach is good for Government, it doesnâ€™t please others,â€ Ecweru told the house.

â€œI did not become a minister because I destroyed anybody and no one will become one by destroying me,â€ he warned. â€œMischief will not take us anywhere.â€

According to the court summons given to the media last week, Ecweru allegedly had sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old girl at his home in Namuwongo in September 2007, a relative to Ecweruâ€™s late wife.

The case is a result of a complaint reportedly lodged by the girlâ€™s father, Steven Okiror, who swore an oath before the Chief Magistrate at Buganda Road Court on September 25. But Ecweru says he does not know a man by that name.

The Federation of Women lawyers has taken up the matter and provided lawyers to help in prosecuting the case.

Hang your potted plants on garden stands

“Garden stands can be positioned in any corner of your outdoor space to add decor,” she says.

You can grow spices from the garden stands. Photo by Ritah Mukasa

By NewVision Reporter

Journalists @NewVision