Bigirimana heads to judiciary as Kagole is forced out

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Pius Bigirimana, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Gender and Social Development has been transferred to the Judiciary as the PS effective today. Bigirimana will replace Kagole Kivumbi who has now been sent on forced leave.

In a letter today, Dr John Mitala, the head of public service, said that the appointing authority, who is President Yoweri Museveni, had directed that Bigirimana be transferred from Ministry of Gender to the Judiciary with immediate effect.

“On receipt of this letter, prepare to hand over your office within the existing regulations and report to your station without delay,” Mitala wrote.

This month, Kivumbi has been in the middle of the heat with Parliament Accounts Committee (PAC) to explain queries from the auditor general question some money spent in the judiciary.

One of the queries was how the construction of two flush toilets came to cost 450  million Shillings. One was the lavatory constructed at the Chief Justice Bart Katureebe’s home at 13 million Shillings by Palwan Engineering Works Limited, while the second was constructed at the Entebbe Chief Magistrates court by Platinum Engineering Limited at 436 million Shillings.

Kivumbi, who became Judiciary PS in 2016, struggle to explain how they came to this cost.

Today, he informed the Judiciary’s commissioner for human resource Dr Opio Owor in a letter that “the appointing authority had directed that I proceed on forced leave with effect from today July 26, 2019.”

Bigirimana previously served as PS at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) before moving to the Ministry of Gender. President Museveni has said Bigirimana was the whistleblower that brought to light the grand corruption that was happening at OPM.

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