The Inspector General of Government (IGG) Irene Mulyagonja has asked the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) to investigate the former chairperson of Cosase committee Abdu Katuntu for allegedly soliciting bribes during the recent probe into the irregular sale of commercial banks.
The directive by the IGG is based on a complaint from an undisclosed person, that Katuntu, the former parliamentary committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) deputy Anita Among, Kasilo County MP Elijah Okupa, and Aruu North MP Odonga Otto regularly met former Crane bank owner Sudhir Ruparelia during the course of the bank probe.
It is alleged that the said committee members received cash payments from Ruparelia and his son Ranjiv Ruparelia which is suspected to be the real reason they refused to yield the leadership of Cosase when their term ended, according to the letter by the IGG.
Handing over the leadership of Cosase became a contentious issue between the Forum for Democratic Change, speaker of parliament and the Cosase leadership.
Whereas FDC wanted Katuntu and Among to hand over leadership to Mubarak Munyagwa and Moses Kasibante respectively when their tenure ended, the duo resisted, insisting that it was only the speaker Rebecca Kadaga who would make the call.
Eventually, Kadaga ruled in their favour to allow them complete the probe and report writing process. However the report has been dismissed as a waste of resources by the general population and several MPs after it made blanket recommendations without specifying the culprits.
The whistleblower accuses Katuntu of receiving a bribe of Shs 400 million from the central bank governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, to allegedly enable the same committee to carry out a benchmarking exercise with other central banks. But, according to the whistleblower that money was not declared by Katuntu and not accounted for.
The whistleblower alleges that the compromising bribe was one of the reasons why the governor was allegedly allowed to pretend that he knew nothing about the closed banks and was never put on oath and was not clearly examined like other Bank of Uganda officials.
The request for investigations into Cosase members was confirmed by the speaker Kadaga after receiving a copy of the letter which is addressed to the director general of ISO, Col Kaka Bagyenda. She said that the letter dated February 19, 2019, would be availed to the Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda.
Padyere County MP Joshua Anywarach had earlier demanded that the prime minister pronounces himself on the letter which he said was deliberately meant to tone down the report on the irregular sale and closure of commercial banks. Katuntu is also being investigated for his interests in the defunct Global Trust bank.
"Hon Abdul Katuntu was one of the debtors of Global Trust bank at the time when the bank was closed on 25th July 2012. He owed the bank approximately Shs 180,000,000, a matter he did not declare yet the debts were amongst the causes of the bank's collapse," further reads IGG's letter.
Mulyagonja concludes that her office decided that ISO is in a better position to investigate the allegations. She requested Col Bagyenda to file a copy of a report of their findings and action taken on the conclusion of the investigation.
Source
