KAMPALA – Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana has said he won’t reply to a ‘mad’ person as the war of words over the administration of the government owned Uganda Telecom Ltd rages.
Mr Rukutana made the remarks in reference to his junior colleague, State Minister for Investment and Privatisation, Ms Evelyn Anite who claims to be figting “a cabal in government” that want to steal the telecom.
According to local website www.eagle.co.ug, Mr. Rukutana, when contacted for a comment over a petition to the Inspectorate of Government to have him and others wealth investigated over involvement in Uganda Telecom Ltd saga, the ever ebullient deputy AG said:
“I can’t reply a mad person otherwise, I will be considered mad as well”
The Deputy AG is also quoted by the local weekly Observer Newspaper as saying: ” …if it occurred to her that I could be a murderer, then we should take her to Butabika to get her checked. Why would I murder a girl anyway?? I know how to put girls to some other good use.”
In a letter dated August 19 to the IGG, a petitioner, Mr Davidson Ssemwanga, wondered why Mr William Byaruhanga, Mr Mwesigwa Rukutana and Mr Keith Muhakanizi are opposed to the audit of UTL.
He argued that this shows they have vested interests in the defunct company, which they do not want the auditors to unearth.
He added that the audit comes at a time when the officials have accumulated a lot of wealth beyond what they earn.
The IGG spokesperson, Ms Munira Ali, confirmed receipt of the letter.
The letter comes days after a whistleblower asked the Inspector General of Government (IGG) to conduct a thorough investigation into what he described as secretive dealings by Investment Minister Evelyn Anite over the management of Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL).
In a letter dated August 16, the whistleblower claims that Ms Anite made a suspicious, impromptu trip to Mauritius, ostensibly to strike a deal with a company there that wants to take over UTL.
Ms Anite recently travelled to the US for her graduation ceremony after completion of her Masters in Arts in International Relations and Diploma at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
However, the whistleblower claims that the minister later secretively connected from US via France to Mauritius.
As a result, the whistleblower says Ms Anite is engaged in influence peddling, abuse of office and corruption.
The whistleblower in his letter demands that the IGG investigates and verify the timing of the alleged trip to Mauritius by Anite and the earlier visit by Mauritius telecom officials to Uganda.
Uganda Telecom Limited was in May 2017 put under administration after Libyans, who owned 69% of the shares left at a time when the company had a Shs700b debt.
Early this year, the government kicked out Teleology Holdings Limited from Nigeria for failure to pay Shs268 billion within three months of being awarded the UTL deal as had been agreed by both parties.
