KAMPALA – The Secretary to Judiciary, Kivumbi Kagole has gone into hiding after failing to account to Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) how Shs34b was spent by the institution.
Mr. Kagole who led the team of officials from the Judiciary shocked both his subordinates and MPs when he refused to show up for today’s meeting with the Public Accounts Committee and only chose to send his personal lawyers without even appointing a deputy to stand in for him.
Upon discovering that Kagole was no show, the furious MPs called for the incarceration of his lawyer, Obed Mwebesa accusing him of attempting to obstruct proceedings of Parliament.
Nandala Mafabi PAC Chairperson tasked Mwebesa to produce his clients after realizing that the phone number he had issued to the Committee were off; “The lawyer was coming to obstruct proceedings of parliament. If we allow people to come and mess, even another one will come. If you want to go now, you must produce him, if you don’t, you aren’t going. For us to allow you go, a certain activity must be done.”
Okin Ojala, PAC Vice-Chairperson also remarked; “The law is very clear for any witnesses to appear before the committee you have to write and invite them. I am wondering whether these people before us are the right people invited to appear before the committee. It looks like we are dealing with witnesses illegally. These aren’t witnesses the Accounting Officer invited them and he himself isn’t here. I am wondering if we are proceeding right to continue with these witnesses.”
After the back and forth discussions, the Committee asked the Parliament Criminal Investigation Department to walk out with Kagole’s lawyer and explain the whereabouts of Kagole.
It should be recalled that PAC summoned the Judiciary to respond to audit queries raised in the June 2018 audit report which highlighted that a sum of Shs34,076,576,196 was incurred on various items without appropriately applying the Government of Uganda chart of accounts as prescribed by the Accountant General.
