Prof. Kabwegyere sorry over comments about famine

By Henry Sekanjako

The appointments committee of Parliament has resolved to drop Presidential nominee Idah Nantaba as state minister for lands citing what they called her bad moral character and arrogance.

The 30 man committee chaired by speaker Rebecca Kadaga first deferred Nantaba on Monday August 27 and on Tuesday September 5 pending investigations into her academic credentials which were said to be inconsistent.

However after weeks of thorough verification of her academic testimonials by the Uganda examination board (UNEB), Nantaba’s academic documents were found to be genuine.

“According to the explanation by UNEB to the committee, her credentials are genuine.  The supplementary provision on her certificate was a general technical error for all the candidates that sat for UNEB exams between 1998 and 2001. They said it is a code reserved for repeaters” a source on the committee told Sunday Vision.

The source added that; “we cleared her on academic documents but her moral character and arrogance failed her”.

Sources on the committee intimated to New Vision that Nantaba’s chances to be approved by the committee dwindled when General Elly Tumwine allegedly screened a video footage to the committee in which Nantaba was captured by journalists accusing the committee and Bridger Henry Tumukunde of trying to fail her appointment.

“Members were like if she attacks everybody including NRM who will she work with, it means she will be taking everything to the president and disrespect everybody, she only respects President Museveni,” a source on the committee noted.

Sources added that Nantaba accused the committee of receiving bribes from land grabbers in Kayunga to fail her which annoyed the entire committee including those that were initially supporting her appointment.

“When it became contentious, the speaker asked us to put the matter to vote those supporting her appointment and those against. Only four people voted in favor, 8 against her appointment and only three members from Buganda region abstained from the vote,” said a source.

Nantaba’s failure to make it to cabinet was also attributed to the alleged mobilization of her supporters who attacked police detectives that had gone to Kayunga to cross check whether she had studied at Ndeeba secondary school in Kayunga.

Meanwhile the committee finally cleared Professor Tarsis Kabwegyere after apologizing to Ugandans more so the people of Northern and Eastern Uganda for his past statements regarding famine and domestic relations bill.

Kabwegyere was also approved after President Museveni wrote to the committee assuring them that he would not deploy him in the gender sector as requested by the committee.

The committee had deferred the approval of Kabwegyere as minister for gender, labour and social development after he ridiculed people in Eastern Uganda by advising them to eat termites and mangoes when they were attacked by famine.

He had also been rejected on grounds of gender insensitivity after he opposed the domestic relations bill which was later split into marriage and divorce bill.

“I am very sorry for those statements and I am ready to mend fences, just like we eat grasshoppers here I thought it was okay for them to eat mangoes and termites if it hurt anyone I am sorry,” a source quoted Kabweygere as saying.

Sources also said, Kabwegyere defended his old age saying all ages be it young or old have a contribution in the development of the country.