As Karamoja Members of Parliament pile pressure on their line minister Goreti Maria Kitutu to account for her ‘misdeeds’ or face forced leave from cabinet, a fresh front against another minister alleged to have shared Iron Sheets has been hatched; this News site reports!
Jenifer Namuyangu, the state minister for Bunyoro affairs must prepare her proper explanation in time as our inspectors have landed on credible clues that she’s next in the line to be tackled to account for the source of her sheets.
Under the new program, we’re told each special region’s legislators want the sector’s minister to present evidence that all those who got items obtained them from the budget allocated to their respective special regions.
The first minister allegedly being lined up is our dear state minister for Bunyoro affairs Jennifer Namuyangu who’s also an MP from Kibuku district in Eastern Uganda.
According to our inspectors, the plotters want the minister to come out and explain in detail if it’s true she also got iron sheets and from which budget.
“The Prime Minister’s letter was clear. She said whereas some ministers got iron sheets, they got them under their respective special regions which have their own budget. But Namuyangu heads Bunyoro which is in Midwestern Uganda yet she’s from Eastern Uganda. We’re therefore, asking did she get her sheets through Luweero triangle ministry or from the Bunyoro affairs ministry she heads? If this was the case, what disaster happened in Kibuku and directly concerned Bunyoro?” An inspector privy to the details of the plot explained. We’re told the plot so far has three MPs including two female legislators and a dark-skinned male member.
Kibuku district falls under Luweero triangle although it has partly benefited from NUSAF housed under Northern Uganda special region.
It’s therefore, not clear if the minister under question was awarded these sheets by her colleague Alice Kaboyo who heads the Luweero triangle special region, Grace Kwiyukwinyi of Northern Uganda special region or got them from her own docket not forgetting Karamoja affairs special region!
This comes after Karamoja MPs yesterday kicked off plans to censure Dr. Kitutu, the minister for Karamoja affairs accusing her of what they called abuse of office and gross mismanagement.
The MPs have already alerted the clerk to parliament and speaker of their ongoing move.
“We may be here when even other dockets were encroached on. If we’re to address this problem, we need to deal with it holistically. Let each minister who got come and explain the source of her mabaati and whether there was a budget provided to the special region every minister picked his or her share” our Inspectors explained.
WILL MPS MANAGE TO CENSURE KITUTU?
Going by leaked records, the honorable Kitutu allegedly asked for a total of 12200 sheets whose whereabouts is still a mystery. However, several ministers and Kitutu herself have since been shown to have shared Iron sheets and yet Karamoja MPs who were the purported direct beneficiaries of the Kitutu Sheets’ request claim nothing like a sheet has ever touched their soil.
Assuming each sheet cost shillings 50000, this translates to Shs610m.
Inspectors said for Kitutu to be censured, it could be both good and bad news for some of the ministers who also got iron sheets.
To begin with, the censure according to analysts would give a chance for the rest of the beneficiaries to go Scott free.
“Right now the public wants to see something being done on those people. It will be in the interest of the other ministers to have Kitutu censured so as to satisfy public opinion on the matter since she was the line minister. Don’t be surprised if she is censured and the matter ends there” says Abed Muhairwe a member of opposition ANT party.
However, John Magumba a NUP activist claimed that Kitutu is being a sacrificial lamb in the wider scheme of the Karamoja mabaati bonanza.
“The issue is that, all ministers named in the saga have a case to answer. However, Kitutu’s problem was she was found in possession of items red-handed by Museveni’s spies selling them through her relatives. She now has a big challenge either to lose her job or allow her relatives be prosecuted! This double jeopardy is what her accomplices are exploiting and she will choose the former” he said.
In the meantime, there’s fear among some members named in the saga that the censure might give Kitutu a chance to open a can of worms against them by revealing all the secrets if any.
“People should not take Kitutu’s silence for granted. If pressed hard against the wall, some of those ministers may not be left standing. She must be having a strong reason for her silence” opined Godfrey Musaali a resident of Nawuyo in Mbale City.
This News site yesterday revealed how Gen. Museveni on Monday in a cabinet meeting at State House banged tables over this matter and warned of stern action to be taken against anyone involved after his investigation.
It should be recalled that Museveni recently directed the Chief Muzzukulu and also head of the NRM Office of the National Chairman (ONC) Hajat. Hadijah Uzeiye Namyalo to lead a campaign among Bazzukulu to fight corruption at all government levels including local government.
Museveni asked the Bazzukulu to secretly record officials soliciting bribes from Bazzukulu who apply for jobs and also those who are sabotaging service delivery to his people. Uzeiye has since dispatched a team of ONC coordinators in the 22 subregions of Uganda armed with HITECH gadgets to monitor and file reports to ONC regarding thuggery in districts.
