Cheeye accountant flees before probe
Jan 31, 2006
THE director of economic monitoring in Internal Security Organisation (ISO), Teddy Seezi Cheeye, was yesterday unable to account for sh120m at Global Fund probe.
By Jude Etyang
THE director of economic monitoring in Internal Security Organisation (ISO), Teddy Seezi Cheeye, was yesterday unable to account for sh120m at Global Fund probe.
Cheeye, who received the money to monitor other recipients through his NGO, Centre for Accountability, in March 2005, said his employee Geoffrey Nkurunziza, who co-ordinated the activities, had gone missing.
When asked about the accountability, Cheeye said Nkurunziza was the one in a position to explain. Cheeye’s NGO was supposed to monitor and evaluate activities of other Global Fund sub-recipients in the districts of Mbarara, Ntungamo, Rakai and Kabale.
Cheeye, Editor-in-Chief of Uganda Confidential newsletter which is famed for publishing stinging exposes about corrupt government officials, said, “I don’t know why he (Nkurunziza) went underground. Maybe he feared that the commission was going to arrest him. He has not reported back to office. I can’t reach him and his phone is unavailable.â€
But the Commission pointed out that he had signed two different accountability reports, which had different bank balances.
Lead counsel Phillip Karugaba said in March, one report had a balance of sh107m and another had sh103m, in July one report had a balance of sh22.m and another sh12.8m, while in April there was sh90.5m on one report and sh80.6m on another. The irregularity was compounded by the fact that after receiving the money in March 2005, Cheeye had withdrawn it all by the end of that month.
Ogoola wondered why Cheeye drew all the money yet the activities were supposed to run from February to June.
Cheeye said he had started the work in February using borrowed funds, which he paid back when the money arrived. He tried in vain to convince the commission that the report he made was worth more than the sh120m, which he called “nothing.â€
He admitted that some of the accountability in Nkurunziza’s report was suspicious.
THE director of economic monitoring in Internal Security Organisation (ISO), Teddy Seezi Cheeye, was yesterday unable to account for sh120m at Global Fund probe.
Cheeye, who received the money to monitor other recipients through his NGO, Centre for Accountability, in March 2005, said his employee Geoffrey Nkurunziza, who co-ordinated the activities, had gone missing.
When asked about the accountability, Cheeye said Nkurunziza was the one in a position to explain. Cheeye’s NGO was supposed to monitor and evaluate activities of other Global Fund sub-recipients in the districts of Mbarara, Ntungamo, Rakai and Kabale.
Cheeye, Editor-in-Chief of Uganda Confidential newsletter which is famed for publishing stinging exposes about corrupt government officials, said, “I don’t know why he (Nkurunziza) went underground. Maybe he feared that the commission was going to arrest him. He has not reported back to office. I can’t reach him and his phone is unavailable.â€
But the Commission pointed out that he had signed two different accountability reports, which had different bank balances.
Lead counsel Phillip Karugaba said in March, one report had a balance of sh107m and another had sh103m, in July one report had a balance of sh22.m and another sh12.8m, while in April there was sh90.5m on one report and sh80.6m on another. The irregularity was compounded by the fact that after receiving the money in March 2005, Cheeye had withdrawn it all by the end of that month.
Ogoola wondered why Cheeye drew all the money yet the activities were supposed to run from February to June.
Cheeye said he had started the work in February using borrowed funds, which he paid back when the money arrived. He tried in vain to convince the commission that the report he made was worth more than the sh120m, which he called “nothing.â€
He admitted that some of the accountability in Nkurunziza’s report was suspicious.