The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
It was designed as a source of initial capital for most crime preventers who had just left university and were jobless. The setting up of Mwangaza came in handy when numbers of crime preventers were growing rapidly as they were being recruited to beef up the re-election campaign of President Museveni in the 2016 general elections. But now, members say, without getting accountability, it is hard to tell whether there is any money on the Mwangaza account.
The mismanagement of Mwangaza has created more disappointment among crime preventers who were already deflated when their benefactor Gen. Kale Kayihura was replaced as Inspector General of Police last year.
Getting back their money has always a challenge, members say, but it has now become impossible.
“Blaise makes all the decisions and anyone who dares to question him; he dismisses from the organisation. He runs the SACCO alone and he appoints the treasurer at will,” another source told The Independent.
Mwangaza has not held any Annual General Meeting (AGM) ever since inception as required by its constitution to review the leadership or give members a report on how SACCO funds are being managed. There is basically no accountability for four years, a member said.
Members accuse Kamugisha of stifling Mwangaza and probably depleting all its money.
The disgruntled crime preventers want the ministry of Trade and Cooperatives to carry out an audit of Mwangaza, trace any missing funds including the presidential donation, fully decentralise Mwangaza to district level, and also do a review of the Mwangaza Constitution.
When Gen. Kayihura advised on the decentralisation of Mwangaza to district level, those who were recruiting at district level were told by Kamugisha to register their members with the promise that their savings would be deposited on their accounts. Those who were waiting for the money did so in vain.
Nothing new
Allegations of corruption against Kamugisha are not new.
Those who were perturbed by Kamugisha’s management style took the matter to Kayihura at his home in Kashagama, Lyantonde on December 30, 2018. Kayihura summoned Kamugisha to account for his actions and on December 31, 2018, a meeting that involved Kamugisha’s team and the accusers happened, at the same venue.
“Show them documentation of how you acquired this property, these people will be the ones to defend you in case of anything,” Kayihura told his protégé Kamugisha. In return, Kamugisha said he had acquired whatever he had through proper means.
According to another source who was in charge of recruiting crime preventers into Mwangaza, Kamugisha did not make proper accountability when he was purchasing two particular items; a Public Address System and two block-making machines in 2017.
The Public Address System was to be used by Police as it rolled out the community policing program across the country while the block making machines were to be used by police for building residential quarters for officers in Naguru. Police would use the two items and in turn pay back to Mwangaza which money would then be ploughed back into the SACCO.
There was a setback though when Gen. Kale Kayihura was sacked in March 2018 and replaced by Martins Okoth Ochola. The new IGP Ochola had not bought into the idea of crime preventers from the onset and the community policing program subsequently lost momentum rendering the machines idle. This affected the entire payment plan.
Kamugisha is said to be cagey about the exact cost of the Public Address System and the block making machines.
A source privy to the transactions of these machines said Kamugisha invoiced a cheque of Shs100million for the block making machines to the Police Director of Engineering and Logistics, Godfrey Bangirana. However Bangirana was alarmed at the amount of money and immediately rejected the invoice. One machine costs about Shs20m according to informed sources.
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