Corruption At Parliament - CID To Arrest More MPs, Civil Servants

The Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) at Kibuli is still carrying on investigations at parliament after allegations of gross corruption and abuse of the taxpayer's money which has put many legislators in fear as they are uncertain who is next on the hook.

This follows the detaintion of three legislators yesterday at CID headquartes Kibuli on allegatiosns of corruption and waiting to be charged in the Anti Corruption Court.

The detainees are Parliament’s Legal Committee vice chairperson, Yusuf Mutembuli; Lwengo Woman MP, Cissy Namujju and Busiki County MP, Paul Akamba and spent the night to Kira Road Police.

Three Members of Parliament recorded statements at the Criminal Investigation Directorate headquarters in Kibuli as part of a wide investigation into acts of corruption by lawmakers chairing key committees and senior officials at the Ministry of Finance.

While addressing the congregation during this year's Hero's day celebrations in Kiboga district , the President of Uganda Gen Yoweri Kaguta Museveni said that he had got evidence implicating Officials from the Ministry of Finance and Parliament Staff coniving to still public funds.

“I have been hearing that from the Ministry of Finance, they collude with the accounting officers of ministries to come to Parliament working with some people there (Parliament) to provide certain funds, provided you take a share. I didn’t believe this but now I have proof,” said Museveni on Thursday. 

According to reliable sources, more Legislators and parilaimentary officials to be interrogated today as a directive to sweep corruption from House.

 CID director Tom Magambo told a meeting of his detectives in Kibuli at the weekend that suspects from Parliament were to be processed for detention and are acting on the orders of President Museveni to record statements from all the suspects on the list.

Social media activists posted that billions of shillings was being irregularly doled out in corporate social responsibility and per diem.

The corruption allegations got more alarming with revelations that four backbench Parliamentary Commissioners shared Shs1.7 billion among themselves under the so-called service award that they negotiated.

Nyendo-Mukungwe MP Mathias Mpuuga, who was then Leader of the Opposition, in March 2022 attended a meeting that award him Shs500 million as a one-off person to holder gratuity.

The others in the meeting were NRM legislators Solomon Silwany (Bukooli Central), Esther Afoyochan (Zombo Woman), and Prossy Mbabazi (Rubanda Woman) - who pocketed Shs400 million each.

 At Parliament, the four legislators are facing censure after the ruling party legislators led by Lwemiyaga County's Theodore Ssekikubo and Tororo Woman MP Sarah Opendi decided to drag them down legally.

Mr Ssekikubo said at the weekend that he would close the collection of member signatures for the censure motion on monday 10th June 2024.

The censure motion has drawn mixed reactions from the ruling party but deputy secretary general Rosemary Namayanja has condemned the actions service award while the NRM whip told the NRM MPs not sign on the motion pending official communication from the top leadership.