Katto denies Saleh bribe

RALLY driver Emmanuel Katto has denied having offerred a US$800,000 BRIBE TO Maj. Gen. Salim Saleh, reports Felix Osike. In a letter sent to The New Vision yesterday, Katto said, "I categorically deny having given or offered to give a bribe to Maj. Gen. Salim Saleh in the much-hyped transaction of the purchase of military helicopters." Katto is the representative for the Belarus-registered company, Consolidated Sales Corporation, which supplied the defence ministry with two unoverhauled helicopters in 1966 for $6.5m (sh9.5b). The planes are grounded at Entebbe International Airport. Saleh, who introduced the company to President Museveni, issued a statement on Tuesday, saying Katto offered him a bribe, but he declined to take it. "I was offered a bribe of $800,000 apparently to expedite the whole transaction. Unlike many Ugandans, I acted indifferently and reported the offer to the Commander-in-Chief," Saleh said. He said it was a result of the revelation that the Army leadership decided to scrutinise the transaction closely. President Museveni said early this month, "In fact it was Maj. Gen. Saleh who eventually reported to me without prompting from anyone, the attempt to bribe him. He had been tempted to accept the bribe but his conscience turned against it and he told me." But Col (rtd) Kiiza Besigye, a presidential aspirant, said Museveni, in a letter to state minister for defence Steven Kavuma, acknowledged having asked Saleh to take the commission but surrendered it to the army for military operations in northern Uganda. Kiiza Besigye has been blamed for the mess. Besigye, who has called for an open inquiry into the controversy, reportedly confirmed in a report that the helicopters were overhauled. Ends.