You Face Arrest, Ocheger Told

THE parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday threatened to have Action Party chairman Nelson Ocheger arrested and prosecuted for failure to account for sh227m he received from government during the 2000 referendum.Hamis Kaheru reports that Ocheger, who was chairman of the Multi-party Referendum Committee, received the money from the Electoral Commission (EC) to campaign for multi-party politics during the run-up to the referendum on political systems.EC Secretary Sam Rwakoojo told PAC yesterday that in spite of numerous reminders, Ocheger had not sent accountability for the money as required by law. Rwakoojo was answering queries raised by the Auditor General in his report of 1999/2000 financial year. “The fellow (Ocheger) went there (in referendum) thinking there was easy money. He should know this was not just a game,” PAC chairman Okullo-Epak said.Epak asked Rwakoojo to write to Ocheger telling him to account for the money as soon as possible. He said Rwakoojo should come with Ocheger during his next appearance before the committee at a date yet to be fixed.Ocheger was dismissed as a masquerader when he surfaced as a torch-bearer of multi-party politics in Uganda during the referendum. The traditional political parties, which campaigned for a boycott of the referendum, dismissed him as an agent of the government paid to give legitimacy to the exercise.He disappeared from the political scene immediately after the referendum and resurfaced to contest for a seat in the East African Legislative Assembly last year. He received only one vote.Ends