State House employees face CID over Basajjabalaba cash

Dec 23, 2011

TWO State House officials have been handed over to the Police over payments to Hassan Basajjabalaba.

By Joyce Namutebi                            

TWO State House officials have been handed over to CID for further questioning over payments to city Tycoon Hassan Basajjabalaba.

The Head of Legal Department, Joy Kabatsi and  the Private Secretary to the President in charge of economic affairs, Edward Muhoozi were on Thursday handed over to CID officer attached to Parliament, David Ngobi by committee chairperson, Kassiano Wadri.

Wadri directed the CID to take the two officials to extract statements from them.

He said that the committee had done its part and there was need for other state organs that have a stake in the matter to extract statements from them. “We have heard what we need to hear from the two witnesses,” Wadri said after hours of questioning by MPs on letters the two officials wrote on compensation to Haba Group.

President Museveni had ordered the officials to appear before PAC to explain themselves. This was during a meeting with PAC members at State House, Nakasero on Wednesday.

During the interface he revealed to MPs that three officials in his office including Kabatsi were being investigated by Police to establish whether “they could have been working for Basajjabalaba as internal collaborators in my office.”

The three, he said, wrote letters behind his back that were used to facilitate payments to the city tycoon.  The others mentioned were Muhoozi and Geoffrey Atwine.

Muhoozi admitted to PAC that he errored in a letter he drafted for signing by President Museveni to the Governor Bank of Uganda on compensation of Haba Group.

 “I errered in writing this letter. I did  know that this letter could make the Governor effect payment of that magnitude,” he said.

Muhoozi made the admission after MPs questioned him to explain where he got authority to draft the letter. They specifically asked him to explain a statement in the letter stating that “I am made to understand that the amounts owing to Haba Group in form of compensation have now been evaluated and quantified.”

The MPs wanted to know what amounts he was talking about, where he got the figures from and who “made him to understand.”  He was directed to bring documents to that effect to Wadri’s office on December 27.

Muhoozi, however, said that before he drafted the letter for the President, he did not know the figures.

Explaining the procedure, Kabasti said that the Principal Private Secretary to the President should read the letters drafted by the State House officials as the final person, before they are passed on to the President.  

           

                        

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