Kazini Handpicked Byakutaaga – MPs

CAPTAIN Dan Byakutaaga, the missing UPDF paymaster, was irregularly appointed by the Army Chief of Staff, Brig. James Kazini, reports Okello Jabweli. A report by the parliamentary select committee on defence says it received evidence that Kazini appointed Byakutaaga without any consultation. "The appointment of the above officer was irregular. All the witnesses interviewed in respect of his appointment stated that contrary to existing regulations in the UPDF, the case of Byakutaaga was abnormal. "The Director of Finance is supposed to appoint paymasters in the UPDF, but Byakutaaga's appointment was done by Brig. James Kazini, the (then) commander "Operation Safe Haven." In a January 21, 1999 letter to the Army Commander, Kazini, stated, "I have appointed the above officer to be in-charge of the pay system for Operation Safe Haven. "This I have done because if we left the exercise to be carried out by departments of finance and records alone, I am afraid it might be manipulated and hence misappropriation of funds." Byakutaaga's appointment letter, also copied to the Secretary of Defence, is attached to the MPs' report as an appendix. Byakutaaga, the then paymaster for UPDF operations in the DRC, went missing early last year. The committee chaired by the Kigulu North MP, Lt. Col. Chris Mudoola, said it confirmed that sh1.2b said to have been embezzled by Byakutaaga, was meant for UPDF troops in the DRC. "The committee learnt that the above amount was not embezzled in a lumpsum but in a period stretching up to three months." "It is the considered view of the committee that investigations should be carried out to establish the whereabouts of Byakutaaga and other paymasters reported missing or dead. The committee also observed that whereas the case of the disappearance of Byakutaaga was still fresh in the memory of Ugandans, it received information that there were other similar cases involving the death or disappearance of paymasters in the UPDF. "From our investigations, the committee noted that between 1996 and 1997 when Brig. James Kazini was the commander of the 4th Division, Lt. Gerald Osere (RIP), the then paymaster, was found dead in his house. The 4th Division command reported that Lt. Osere had committed suicide because he was about to be arrested for embezzling soldier's funds," the report stated. It added, "However, the committee received contradictory reports that Osere had been actually murdered simply because he had refused to "cooperate" with his bosses in embezzling soldier's funds." The committee recommended that the Government investigates all cases of UPDF paymasters reported to be missing or dead. It also recommended that all army payments should be effected through banks instead of entrusting individuals with large sums of money. Ends