CHOGM SCANDAL:IGG clears Mbabazi

 

The inspectorate of government has cleared the Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi of mismanagement the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) funds.

 

On Tuesday after the arrest of former vice President Gilbert Bukenya over abuse of office, MPs demanded the arrest of other ministers implicated in the mismanagement of billions of public funds meant for the 2007 CHOGM summit.

 

Mbabazi who was security minister at the time, was implicated in the May 2010 Parliamentary Public accounts committee (PAC) report which found him guilty of “influence peddling” in the deal awarded to Balton Uganda (Ltd) at $5m (about Shs11b) by the CHOGM security sub committee.

 

PAC recommended that Mbabazi who was the Inspector General of CHOGM, be held responsible for his “hidden interest” in the $5m TETRA communication system deal where on his command the money was spent outside the budget approved by parliament for CHOGM.

 

But in a report released by the Inspector General of Government (IGG) Raphael Baku in June 2011, Mbabazi was cleared of alleged influence peddling, conflict of interest, causing financial and flouting procurement laws which many people have continued to protest.

 

However the director of legal affairs at the Inspectorate of Government, Sydney Asubo said that the inspectorate carried out its investigations about the Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and found him innocent.

 

“PAC findings about the prime minister were made, and we also made ours which were made public, but we have never received any body contesting our findings,” he said.

 

This was during an interview with Journalists at Parliament yesterday after presenting to the speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga the inspectorates’ first annual corruption report 2010.

 

Asubo added that the inspectorate would stand by its findings which he urged those contesting its report to go to court.

“We stand by our report, and we think that it is the legitimate thing to do so, those who think have evidence against some people are at liberty to go to court, no one can stop them,” he said.

 

He noted that they will not prosecute any one that they have not taken to court apart from those whose files have been forwarded to the anti corruption court.

 

“I have the files, the evidence and I know the facts. I can guarantee that those we have taken to court are the ones we can prosecute,” he assured.

 

On Wednesday the anti corruption court issued summons to three government ministers to appear before the court over charges of abuse of office and causing financial loss to government.

 

They included government chief whip John Nasasira, foreign affairs minister Sam Kutesa, and minister of state for labour Mwesigwa Rukutana.

 

MPs demanded that ministers do resign from their current positions to allow investigations into the accusations but according to Asubo their stay in office would not in any way affect the investigations.

 

Asubo further assured the public that the inspectorate would take more two officials to court once investigations are done